DuPont Dansico has been in a multi-year powerhouse partnership to develop cellulosic ethanol. Today, DuPont has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Danisco, a global enzyme and specialty food ingredients company to the tune of $5.8 billion along with the assumption of $500 million of Danisco net debt for a total of $6.3 billion. Once the …
Qteros Closes $22M in Funding, Partners with Praj
Qteros announced today a strategic partnership to accelerate commercialization efforts for industrial-scale cellulosic ethanol production with Praj Industries. The agreement will capitalize on Qteros’ CBP platform and Praj’s research capabilities as well as their technology, process design, engineering and construction expertise. The goal of the partnership is to deliver fully integrated ethanol engineering design packages at a low cost of …
INEOS Secures $75M USDA Loan Guarantee
INEOS BioEnergy Center has received a conditional commitment for a $75 million loan guarantee as part of the USDA’s 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program. The project is a partnership between INEOS Bio and New Planet Energy. The funds will be used for the construction of their plant to be located near Vero Beach, Florida. Once completed, the biorefinery will produce 8 …
BIRD Energy Grant Awarded to Virent, HCL CleanTech
A $900,000 BIRD Energy grant has been awarded to Madison, Wisconsin-based Virent Energy Systems, Inc. and Isreal-based HCL CleanTech from the BIRD Foundation along with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Isreali Ministry of National Infrastructures. BIRD Energy is a program for the U.S. and Isreal to jointly develop renewable energy. Virent and HCL have partnered on a $2.1 …
Gene Opens Up More Potential Biomass for Biofuels
Researchers in Oklahoma have discovered the gene responsible for how dense of material a plant grows, and that discovery could open the door to more biomass for biofuels grown in the same amount of land. This press release from the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation says making denser plants allows farmers to increase the amount of biomass without increasing their agricultural …
New Yeast Strain Could Help Cellulosic Ethanol Production
A collaborative effort has produced a yeast strain that speeds up the process of making ethanol from cellulosic materials. Researchers at the University of Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, Seoul National University and the oil company BP worked together to develop the newly engineered yeast strain that can simultaneously consume two types of sugar …
IPF Releases Economic Report of 31 Energy Projects
The Iowa Power Fund released a report today that details the economic impact of 31 projects from 2008 through September 2010. Each of the projects has received monetary funds from the program. One project that has received funding from the Iowa Power Fund is Project LIBERTY, POET’s project to develop cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs and light corn stover. The …
DOE Offers Funding for Next Generation Biofuels
The U.S. Department of Energy is now accepting applications for up to $30 million in total funding for small-scale process integration projects that support the development of advanced biofuels that will be able to replace gasoline or diesel without requiring special upgrades or changes to the vehicle or fueling infrastructure. “Developing the next generation of American biofuels will enhance our …
ZeaChem’s Cellulosic Biorefinery Within Sight
ZeaChem’s cellulosic biorefinery is within sight. The company has announced two recent milestones in the process for their 250,000 gallons-per-year plant to go online in 2011. First, they secured full construction funding for their facility including a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to be used toward the cost of constructing the front and back-end cellulosic process …
2011 Renewable Fuels Standards Set
The EPA has finalized the 2011 percentage standards for the four categories of fuel under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). As such, each producer and importer of gasoline and diesel determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used during the year in its transportation fuel. The required use of biofuels will increase each year until …