The Obama administration today announced new investments in the biofuels industry as part of the Defense Production Act (DPA). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Navy and Department of Energy jointly announced $30 million in federal funding to match private investments in commercial-scale advanced drop-in biofuels. The Energy Department is also announcing a total of $32 million in new investments …
Biofuels Take to the Skies in Brazil
Renewable jet fuel will be taking flight during the upcoming Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil on June 19, 2012. Azul Airlines, powered with renewable fuel produced from sugarcane by Amyris, has scheduled a demonstration flight on an Azul E195 aircraft powered by GE’s CF34-10E engines. The flight is being coined “Azul+Verde,” which means “a greener blue”. Amyris’s renewable …
CLG & ARA To Develop Drop-in Diesel
ARA’s ReadiJet Alternative Fuel Initiative has a new member: Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron Products Company and Lummus Technology. The goal of the project is to create drop-in diesel and jet kero biofuels. The two companies will work together to combine ARA’s CH PROCESS technology with CLG’s ISOCONVERSION process technology to create drop-in biofuels for …
Vilsack Announces Advanced Biofuels Roundtable
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed the 2012 Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, presented by Biofuels Digest, Tuesday in Washington D.C. and announced an upcoming Advanced Biofuels Industry Roundtable to be held next month. Vilsack said the Roundtable will be a joint effort between USDA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Navy and will be held on May 18 “as …
Virent and Virdia Make Jet Fuel From Trees
Under a joint energy project, Virent and Virdia (formerly HCL CleanTech) this week announced the successful conversion of cellulosic pine tree sugars to drop-in hydrocarbon fuels. The development is part of the BIRD Energy project, a joint program started in January 2011 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure and the BIRD Foundation. …
Sustainable Biofuels Awards Presented
The Sustainable Biofuels Awards were presented this week at the World Biofuels Markets 2012 Congress in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The awards include biofuels leadership, technology, adoption, bioethanol, biodiesel, feedstock innovation, innovation in aviation, biopower generation and bio-based chemicals and are determined based on judging by an elite panel of independent industry experts, with final voting by individuals in the general biofuels …
State of the Advanced Ethanol Industry
A panel of advanced ethanol company executives at the National Ethanol Conference was at the same time optimistic and sobering about the future of next generation biofuel production. “We openly acknowledged the ‘elephant in the room’ and that is that some of the numbers that people were talking about are bigger than we can expect in the immediate term,” said …
USDA and Airline Companies to Discuss Aviation Biofuels
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is hosting a media roundtable with aviation business leaders today to discuss the important role of American-produced biofuels in the civilian aircraft and airline industry, and in the military. Participants in the discussion with Vilsack will include John Tracy with The Boeing Company and Billy Glover of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Alex Marren with United Continental Holdings …