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 …
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 …
Crop Group Confirms Ethanol Calibration System
DuPont recently received confirmation from an independent sources that its ethanol yield calibration system really works. The external independent validation came from the Illinois Crop Improvement Association (ICIA), which demonstrated that the Ethanol Yield Potential (EYP) near infrared (NIR) calibration does reliably predict the ethanol output of whole corn grain. The calibration, developed by DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred, allows ethanol …
ACE Announces Lineup for 2008 Ethanol Conference
“Fueling Revolution” is the theme for the 2008 Ethanol Conference and Trade Show being held August 12-14 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The conference officially gets underway on August 13 with morning breakout sessions on a number of important topics, including Protecting Profitability in Volatile Markets, Mid-Range Ethanol Blends & E85, Current Issues in Distillers Grains, and Cellulosic …
Company to Commercialize New Biofuel Technology
California biofuels technology corporation Primafuel has created a new Kansas-based subsidiary for next-generation biofuels solutions. According to the company, Primafuel Solutions will deliver next-generation, market-ready technology solutions to the biofuels industry. By taking Primafuel’s advanced technology platforms to market, Primafuel Solutions is working with customers to facilitate the transition to more sustainable bio-refineries. The team’s initial offering is SMAART™Oil, a …
Organizations Support Ethanol Tariff
Seven commodity and ethanol organizations have written a letter to President Bush in support of the secondary tariff on imported ethanol. The groups called attention to the importance of the tariff for the nation’s growing ethanol industry, as well as to the nation’s energy, economic, and environmental security. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Ethanol Producers and Consumers (EPAC), National …
Ethanol Industry Leaders Unite
Biofuels groups from the US, Canada, Brazil and Europe put aside their differences this past week to present a united front to world leaders meeting in Japan. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features an interview with Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen about the input the groups provided to the Group of Eight meeting of world leaders, …
POET Starts Ethanol Publication
POET has launched a new quarterly publication called “Vital.” Originally created to replace over 100 separate newsletters POET distributed every year, Vital is putting a face to the ethanol industry. Throughout 2008, Vital will base its editorial on four main themes: the future of ethanol, community profiles, industry information and environmental advancements. The first issue of Vital came out in …