A biofuels researcher at UC Davis has been selected for a national career award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The early career development award was given to Tina Jeoh, a UC Davis assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering. The award is worth $407,573 over five years and will support Jeoh’s studies of how microbial enzymes break down plant …
Rural America Will Provide Energy Solutions
There are advanced biofuels on the horizon and one such fuel will be algae fuels produced from the waste streams of a first generation corn-ethanol plant. In the future, many believe that more co-located biofuel refineries are on the way and the model will be the Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) / BioProcess Algae plants. BioProcess Algae is in the …
BIO Releases Policy White Paper
The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference is underway in Washington, D.C. and more than 400 senior level executives are in attendance to learn more about the trends in the advanced biofuels industry. During the Conference, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released a new policy white paper that determined the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) provides both stable market support and a pricing …
ABO Goes to Washington
The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) may be relatively young, having been formed in March of 2006, but they have made some significant strides in Washington, D.C. in lobbying for advanced biofuels such as algae, to play on the same field as cellulosic biofuels. I caught up with Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director after her multi-day trip to D.C. to learn …
USDA Tours ICM Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
USDA Administrator for Rural Business Cooperative Services Judith Canales is on a tour of Kansas and Missouri to promote the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) along with the development of renewable energy technologies. She was joined by several USDA state directors, and along the tour they stopped in St. Joseph, Missouri to tour ICM’s cellulosic ethanol pilot plant Lifeline …
Senate Hearing Focuses on Ethanol
In the face of increasing unrest in the Middle East and higher gas prices, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met this morning to review Department of Energy (DOE) biofuel programs and biofuel infrastructure issues. In testimony before the committee, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen stressed the importance of expanding the marketing for ethanol-blended fuels …
Obama Sticks to His Guns on Biofuel Policy Support
President Obama is sticking to his guns in his support of biofuels, among other energy sources, as viable ways for America to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil. This morning, his administration released its plan for a comprehensive energy policy their report, “Blueprint For A Secure Energy Future.” As a result of the report, the biofuel and biotech …
Poplar Trees Possible Candidate for Biofuels
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center may have discovered some clues that could lead to poplar trees as the next candidate for biofuels. The research is being led by Charles Wyman of the Bourns College of Engineering’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology at the University of California Riverside who is joined by teams from Oak Ridge …
Loss of DOE Loan Gurantee Program “Would Be A Tragedy”
There is a lot of action in the “Beltway” these days surrounding biofuels. One such conversation is around the fate of the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program. A group of policy makers want to end the program, which right now is funded with Reinvestment and Recovery monies. However, energy companies, such as Pleasanton, California-based Fulcrum Bioenergy, would be …
VG Energy Retains BioProcess Algae For Project
VG Energy, a subsidiary of Viral Genetics, has hired BioProcess Algae to verify the lab results for its biofuel process. VG Energy is preparing to take its process to commercial scale. On the pilot scale level, the company’s proprietary technology has produced algal-biofuels at prices they believe will be competitive with or better than current oil prices. However, before they …