Heliae Reveals Volaris – Algae Production Platform

Joanna Schroeder

Heliae has revealed its latest microalgae production platform, Volaris, the result of five years of research and development. The technology was designed to produce high purity microalgae at competitive prices. According to the company, Volaris will enable large-scale production for diverse markets and provide a natural, sustainable and consistent supply of alage-based products to meet worldwide demand. “Good science takes …

advanced biofuels, algae

Neil Young Fills ‘er Up with Cellulosic Ethanol

Joanna Schroeder

Earlier this month, Hall of Fame recording artist Neil Young stopped by Sioux Falls, South Dakota to fill up his LincVolt with POET-DSM cellulosic ethanol. LincVolt is a hybrid-electric 1959 Lincoln Continental with onboard charging powered by cellulosic ethanol. He’s on a cross-country tour to highlight renewable energy. During his visit, Young said you don’t see much about what is …

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Climate Change, Electric Vehicles, Environment, Ethanol, Video

DOE Announces $18M to Advance Drop-In Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $18 million in investments for four pilot-scale biorefineries that will test renewable biofuels that will meet military specifications for jet fuel, shipboard diesel, cars and trucks. These projects build on the Obama Administration’s broader efforts to advance biofuels technologies to continue to bring down costs, improve performance and identify effective, non-food feedstocks …

advanced biofuels, algae, aviation biofuels, biomass, military

BioProcess Algae Awarded $6.4M Grant

Joanna Schroeder

BioProcess Algae has been selected to receive a grant of up to $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as part of an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery project related to production of hydrocarbon fuels meeting military specification. The project will use renewable carbon dioxide, lignocellulosic sugars and waste heat through BioProcess Algae’s Grower Harvester(TM) technology platform, co-located with the …

advanced biofuels, algae, Renewable Energy

Dyadic Talks Enzyme Production for Biofuels at ABLC

John Davis

A big issue for biofuels producers, especially those in the cellulosic branch, is trying to come up with enzymes that can crack the multitude of biomass structures to unlock the sugars within, and thus, unlock the fuel trapped within. “The enzymes have always been one of the Achilles’ heels of the cellulosic side,” Mark Emalfarb, CEO of Dyadic International, a …

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, Cellulosic

Get Your Green on with Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

According to Fuels America, the biofuels industry is getting its green on with improved sustainability measures adopted throughout the biofuel chain. The chain – from farm to fiber to fuel– is meeting needs for energy, food and fiber in a more environmentally sensitive manner each day. During a press call this week, farmers and ethanol industry experts gave a briefing …

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, corn, Equipment, Ethanol, Fuels America

LanzaTech CEO: Need Biofuels, Oil & All of the Above

John Davis

While some of the talk at the recent Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference has focused on pointing fingers at the oil companies and some of the oil companies pointing back, at least one biofuel provider was saying we need them both. Jennifer Holmgren (shown holding an award for being one of the movers and shakers in the biofuel world), the CEO …

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels

Shell at ABLC: Don’t Blame Big Oil for Blend Wall

John Davis

One of the great things about the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference is the diverse group of biofuels stakeholders with diverse points of view. Case in point, Shell Oil’s presence at the gathering, and the company’s Downstream Policy & Advocacy Manager, North America, John Reese, who makes the contention that it’s not the oil companies who are creating the E15 blend …

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, E15, Ethanol, Oil

ABLC: Increasing Optimism in Biofuels Financing

John Davis

A big part of any business operation is being able to secure the capital to allow the company to get started and grow properly. Obviously, that’s no different for the biofuels industry, and attendees at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference heard some good news from the financing side of the house. “I think the overarching message of the panel was …

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels

LS9 Expands Demonstration Facility

Joanna Schroeder

LS9 has announced plans to expand its operations at their Okeechobee, Florida demonstration facility with a successful customer trial. The Florida facility was initially designed, and has been used, to scale-up LS9’s fermentation technology and generate large commercial samples for testing and product qualification by key partners and prospective customers. Since the company’s initial run at 135,000 liter scale in …

advanced biofuels, biochemicals, Biodiesel, biomaterials