Oil giant Chevron and timber giant Weyerhaeuser are teaming up to make biofuels.
This story in the Seattle Times says the new company formed from the partnership, Catchlight Energy, will be looking to get the green fuel from cellulose and lignin:
Catchlight will initially have offices at Weyerhaeuser’s Federal Way headquarters and at Chevron’s San Ramon, Ca. homebase. Chevron executive Michael Burnside will be the new venture’s chief executive, and W. Densmore Hunter of Weyerhaeuser is chief technology officer.
Both firms will contribute technology and personnel. Catchlight may employ 30 to 40 people over time in its research and development effort, said Weyerhaeuser president Dan Fulton.
The venture will study “not only the technology, but also the commercial implications of creating a viable business there,” Fulton said.
The creation of Catchlight formalizes a partnership Chevron and Weyerhaeuser entered in April 2007. At the time, many energy and agricultural companies began seeking to leverage their expertise into the fast-growing biofuel business.
This is not the first time unlikely partners have teamed up to make biofuels. You might remember that “Big Oil” and “Big Chicken” (ConocoPhilips and Tyson, respectively) teamed up last year to turn chicken fat into biodiesel.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is filing a World Trade Organization challenge to Argentina’s export tax system… a system the ASA says turns out to be an unfair subsidy for Argentine biodiesel exports.
A new report says Ohio could be home to 174,000 advanced, renewable energy jobs by 2030. 
During a press conference following his appearance at the general session, Schafer fielded questions from farm media about biofuels and ethanol in particular. Asked if there was any chance that there might be a delay in implementing the new Renewable Fuels Standard because of recent reports claiming that biofuels are bad for the environment, Schafer said no.
While some car makers might be betting the future for fuels will be a mix of several different sources, one major European carmaker seems to be happy to put all of its eggs in one basket.
The South Dakota State House and Senate has voted unanimously to approve a bill that would cut state taxes on diesel mixed with biodiesel.
Officials with the National Biodiesel Board are telling those who depend on their trucks… and the fuel they put in those trucks… for their living that the quality of biodiesel is getting better.
You can’t turn a corner at the 2008 Commodity Classic trade show without seeing something about ethanol. A record crowd is attending the Classic this year – more than 4450 people and over 140 media are in Nashville and the corn-fed enthusiasm is driven in a large part by the ethanol buzz.
Everybody who is anybody in the ethanol industry is here – the 
But its only just begun. Friday will feature Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer during the general session followed up by a John Deere Learning Center Session on Starch and Cellulose as Ethanol Feedstocks. And Saturday night everybody will be “Corn Fed” with a concert featuring the lovely and talented Shannon Brown.
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is now in the publishing business after announcing the introduction of “Ethanol Retailer” magazine this week. Robert White, Publisher, is pictured (center) during a panel he participated in on E85 during the National Ethanol Conference. I interviewed Robert about the new venture and the panel he was on.
The sudden skyrocketing of wind energy production, especially in areas of the Midwest and rural parts of Texas and California, is outdistancing the the capacity for the nation’s high-voltage lines to get that clean electricity into the nation’s cities.