By Michele Rubino, Special to The Digest Displacing the use of petroleum and other fossil fuels embedded in everyday products with bio-based, renewable resources is – and has been for a long time – a necessity for human societies. It is also the goal of an entire industry. A recent toxic combination of low oil […]
Part 3 – Project Execution By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest In the second release of the Understanding Advanced Biotechnology Commercialization series, the mechanics of taking the detailed concept and turning it into steel in the grounds was covered, culminating in a facility that is ready to be started up and […]
Part 2 – Project Execution By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest In the first release of the Understanding Advanced Biotechnology Commercialization series, the overall commercialization process was outlined and a detailed review of the project development phase presented. It covered early concept development and preparation of sufficient engineering detail to […]
Part 1 – Overview and Project Development By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest When I reflect on the characteristics of successful advanced biotechnology companies that have achieved commercial scale, and the longer list of companies that haven’t, the difference between success and failure is often not the core technology alone, […]
By Graham Noyes, executive director, Low Carbon Fuels Coalition Special to The Digest The first year of California’s legislative session ended dramatically with a mix of successes and setbacks for the low carbon fuel industry. California leads the nation on policies to combat climate change resulting in dramatic proposals like Governor Jerry Brown’s and Senate President […]
By Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President, BIO The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun to examine boosting gasoline octane ratings to achieve greater greenhouse gas emission control standards for passenger vehicles after 2025. Higher octane ratings would enable increased fuel efficiency in cars that have high-compression engines, giving American drivers better performance at the lowest […]
By Graham Noyes, Low Carbon Fuels Coalition Special to The Digest In contrast to DC’s swamp-like conditions, California’s capitol is known for its dry triple digit heat. This August, politicians and citizens alike are breathing Central Valley air scorched by dry heat and periodically thickened by wildfire smoke. The four year drought has deprived both […]
By Douglas L. Faulkner, “The Cleantech Conservative”, special to The Digest Most liberals don’t hate biofuels. But most don’t love them either, mainly because of their underlying environmental concerns about first-generation biofuels, corn starch ethanol and soy biodiesel. The left’s deep ambivalence toward biofuels is thus a mirror image of conservative views, amplifying that political […]
By Fran Flynn, special to The Digest On the putting green, the golfer who putts last has the advantage of watching his predecessor ‘show him the line. There is valuable information to be gleaned if his attention is focused on the details. For example, he can determine many uncontrollable factors such as speed, slope, and […]
By Doug Williams, special to The Digest The mid 2000’s saw a tremendous surge in interest in biofuels technologies. I got caught up in it myself. I’ve worked with biofuels and bio-based chemicals technology start-ups for the last decade. It’s certainly been worthwhile. The industry has since suffered its first dot-com bubble-like crash. It’s perhaps […]
