Race cars in the Land Down Under will be running on 85 percent ethanol next year. Australian media sources report that V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane announced on Sunday that all cars in the main V8 series and the Fujitsu Development Series will run on E85 made from sugar cane for at least five years starting in 2009. “We want …
Team Ethanol Partners With Drivers Edge
Team Ethanol has teamed up with Driver’s Edge, a nonprofit organization that travels the country teaching teens defensive driving techniques for free. Driver’s Edge was prominently displayed on the No. 17 Team Ethanol car, driven by 2008 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and 2008 Watkins Glen winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, during Sunday’s IndyCar® Series Honda Indy 200 in Mid-Ohio. Team …
Who is OPEC Kidding?
Ethanol makers all over the world are asking the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), “Who do you think you’re kidding?” In a full page ad in the Financial Times, the biofuel industries of Brazil, Canada, Europe and the United States are challenging the oil cartel’s “outrageous, misleading, and unsubstantiated claims about the role of ethanol in world oil markets.” …
Good News for Ethanol in OECD Report
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report on biofuels policies out this week claims that that biofuel production “has a limited impact on reducing greenhouse gases and improving energy security, and has a significant impact on world crop prices.” However, an analysis of the findings indicates the opposite. According to a review of the report by the Renewable …
Dow Catalyst Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol
Dow Chemical Company will work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop and evaluate a process to convert biomass to ethanol and other chemical building blocks. The partnership will evaluate a mixed alcohol catalyst from Dow that could hold potential for making cellulosic ethanol more commercially viable. “NREL is interested in reducing the cost of biofuels in support of …
Shell Increases Cellulosic Ethanol Investment
Royal Dutch Shell is nearly doubling its investment in cellulosic ethanol. Shell announced this week that it is increasing its shareholding in Iogen Energy Corporation from 26.3% to 50%. Shell first took an equity stake in 2002. The terms of the agreement include a significant investment by Shell in technology development with Iogen. Iogen’s first demonstration commercial plant opened in …
EPIC Steps Up to Take Charge of Ethanol
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is the organization that takes charge of educating consumers about ethanol. Just last month, the young non-profit held it’s first ever annual meeting, where new ideas were presented, new members were elected and new goals were set. EPIC executive Director Toni Nuernberg says EPIC has already achieved much success in its first two years, …
Repeal of Missouri Ethanol Standard Would be Costly
Missouri corn growers say repealing the state ethanol standard would be a costly mistake. The CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Association says that while recent political proposals claim repealing the statewide ethanol standard would lower fuel and food prices, the effect would be quite the opposite. “Simple economics dictate that increasing supply helps reduce price,” said Gary Marshall. “Utilizing …
DOE Awards Cellulosic Grants
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded grants of up to $40 million over five years for two small-scale cellulosic biorefinery projects, one in Wisconsin and one in Louisiana. Flambeau River BioFuels received approval to construct and operate a biorefinery at an existing pulp and paper mill in Park Falls, Wisconsin. When completed, the facility will produce at least 1 …
Poll Finds Bipartisan Support for Ethanol
By a margin of 2 to 1, American voters believe increasing the use of renewable fuels like ethanol should continue, according to a new poll conducted by the Democratic firm of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. The survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted June 23 – July 1 also revealed that nearly half of …