The exhibit hall opened yesterday and showcases booths from a variety of alternative fuel industry groups and automakers. An important workshop was held this afternoon and focused on the untruths of the alternative fuel industry. The session, Eco-Smackdown: Industry Addresses Untruths About Alternative Fuels, included a panel of experts from industries representing propane, compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and ethanol. An …
Univ. of GA Partners with Ceres on Switchgrass Study
“This project allows us to expand our internal and collaborative plant breeding activities in a region where we believe the industry will have a strong presence,” said Ceres plant breeding director Jeff Gwyn, Ph.D. “There’s a lot of headroom for improvement and I’m confident that working together we can continue to drive up yields at a robust pace,” he said. …
Has Gasoline Consumption Peaked?
The oil loving Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article today about the “peak of gasoline”. Many analysts are predicting that with the rise in biofuels production, fuel economy and gasoline prices (although they are holding steady around $2.00 per gallon on average) and the current depressed state of the economy, we’ve seen “peak” gasoline use, at least in the …
Verenium Introduces Veretase
Verenium Corporation today announced a new enzyme for the food and beverage industry called Veretase. This enzyme was developed for the liquefaction of starch-based mashes and slurries specifically for use in food and beverage applications. The enzyme improves saccharification and fermentation efficiency and consistency. “Verenium is pleased to introduce this unique enzyme specifically designed to improve the economics and efficiency …
Valero Invests in Biofuels Company Terrabon
BP has been marketing itself as “Beyond Petroleum” for several years now but it appears that Valero is vying for the top spot in “green energy”. Valero has now invested in Terrabon, a company that is developing technology to produce “green” gasoline through the conversion of trash from landfills to energy. Terrabon’s main technology for biofuels is MixAlco, an advanced …
Military to Fly on Cellulosic Fuel
American fighter jets, bombers and cargo planes might soon be displaying a green jet stream… at least metaphorically. Greentech Media reports that the the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has already let a $19.6 million contract to Logos Technologies to come up with a way to make JP-8… the military’s all-around fuel primarily used as a replacement to diesel… …
VIASPACE Increases Production of Giant King Grass
Amid concerns and criticisms of the near-term viability of cellulosic ethanol, VIASPACE Inc. has announced plans to expand production of its proprietary grass feedstock Giant King Grass. The Company’s goal is to supply nonfood feedstocks for the production of cellulosic ethanol, methanol and “green gasoline.” The first major Giant King Grass crop was planted in October 2008 in Guangdong Province …
DF Cast: Farm Foundation’s Global Conversation
The latest edition of Domestic Fuel Cast listens in on some of the conversation at this week’s Farm Foundation “Transition to a Bioeconomy: Global Trade and Policy Issues” conference. This is the fourth in a series of conferences looking at the transition to a bioeconomy the Farm Foundation has sponsored. This week’s event brought people from around the world to …
INEOS Bio Developing Cellulosic
Commercializing Gasification/Fermentation Technology was the topic of comments made by Mark Dietzen, INEOS Bio, at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He says that they have a practical technology that they’re in the process of implementing to be online by 2011 to produce cellulosic ethanol. He thinks that it will help bridge the gap between what’s possible …