UOP, a honeywell company, has broken ground on a biofuels demonstration plant in Hawaii that will convert forest waste, algae and other cellulosic biomass to fuel. The project is being helped along by a $25 million U.S. Department of Energy grant. The project will help meet federal biofuel mandates as well as help Hawaii reach its clean energy goals of …
NextGen Biofuels Fund Accepting Applications
If you are an advanced biofuels company based in Canada that needs funds, then you might not have to look any further than the NextGen Biofuels Fund. The fund was created by the Government of Canada to support development of advanced biofuels. Currently, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is issuing a Call for Applications. “By helping to create biorefineries, the …
Private Investments for Alt Energy At Four-Year Low
According to new research from Lux Research, investments in the alternative fuels sector have reached a four-year low of $930 million for alternative fuel start-ups in 2010. However, 2010 was also a record-breaking year for investments to companies with flexible technologies that can use a variety of feedstocks to produce a variety of products at $698 million. Lux says that …
USDA Guarantees Loan for Florida Biofuels Plant
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced a $75 million loan guarantee for a Florida bioprocessing facility to create fuel from citrus and yard waste. The guarantee will support construction of the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy facility in Vero Beach, Florida that will produce up to 8 million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol from citrus fruit, vegetable …
President Talks Ethanol in Illinois
The 11-year-old grandson of a corn farmer and ethanol plant investor got to ask President Obama a question during a town hall meeting at the Wyffels Hybrids corn seed production plant in Atkinson, Illinois on Wednesday. “My grandpa is a farmer, and he owns part of the local ethanol plant,” young Alex McAvoy said to the POTUS. “I was wondering, …
Gator Fat Could Make Biodiesel
Once upon a time, an oil company used the slogan “Put a Tiger in Your Tank.” Someday, it could be “Put a Gator in Your Tank.” Scientists have identified a new and unlikely raw material for biodiesel in alligator fat, according to a research published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Researchers at the University …
Navy, Energy and USDA Partner for Advanced Biofuels
The Obama Administration today announced a partnership between the private sector and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. President Obama made the announcement during a stop in Iowa, at the same time the three department secretaries held a telephone conference call with the press. …
Chrysler and ZeaChem Team Up for Cellulosic Ethanol
A leading advanced biofuels company has teamed up with a major automobile maker to speed up the production and use of cellulosic ethanol made from non-food feedstocks. Chrysler Group and ZeaChem today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to “strengthen the credibility among regulators and American consumers of cellulosic ethanol as a cost-effective green transportation alternative; move away from …
Level the Playing Field for Biofuels
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) announced this week his intent to introduce bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would help level the playing field for advanced biofuels such as algae. He wants to accomplish this by reforming the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to make it technology agnostic. Of the 36 billion gallons required by the RFS, up to 15 billion …
Ag Secretary to Visit Florida Advanced Biofuel Plant
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is scheduled to pay a visit to a Florida advanced biofuel plant on Thursday afternoon. Vilsack will tour the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy facility in Vero Beach. The company received a $75 million USDA loan guarantee earlier this year to help build and operate a biorefinery capable of producing eight million gallons per year …