Waste-to-biofuels company, Enerkem, has raised C$50 million in financing bringing the total equity investment raised by the company in 2013 to C$87 million. As part of this financing, institutional fund Investissement Québec joins existing investors Waste Management of Canada, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, The Westly Group, Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction, who each increased their investment …
New DoD Contract Looks to Crack $4/gal Biofuels
The Pentagon has handed out a series of contracts for aviation biofuels totaling $16 million. Bloomberg reports the three refineries in Illinois, Nebraska and California that won the Department of Defense awards hope to make the green fuels for less than $4 per gallon: The contracts will be matched by more than $17 million in investments by the contractors, Sharon …
Enerkem Launches New Research Project
Waste-to-biofuels company Enerkem has launched a new research project with the Government of Canada. The project objective is to develop new catalytic processes for the conversion of waste into drop-in biofuels that can be used to replace conventional gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The Government of Canada is contributing $1.1 million to this project via Natural Resources Canada. “Enerkem’s core …
USDA Renews Dairy Energy Pact
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today renewed a historic agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate the adoption of innovative waste-to-energy projects and energy efficiency improvements on U.S. dairy farms, both of which help producers diversify revenues and reduce utility expenses on their operations. The pact extends a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009. USDA support for agricultural and …
Regional Clean Energy Challenge Winners Named
Aerosol Control Technologies (ACT) of Washington University in St. Louis, has won the $10,000 Missouri Clean Energy Student Challenge. The team will compete for more than $300,000 in prizes in the second annual Clean Energy Student Challenge on April 4, 2013 in Chicago. ACT is developing an advanced particulate matter capture system that will significantly improve diesel engine efficiency using …
U.S. Advanced Energy to Grow 19% Year-Over-Year
A new report shows that advanced energy became a $1.1 trillion market globally in 2011, outpacing even pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide, and the U.S. sector is expected to have grown by 19 percent last year, with American revenues rising to $157 billion. The report from Advanced Energy Economy highlights how in 2011 alone, this advanced energy sector, including hydropower, solar, wind, …
2013 Waste to Biofuels Market Analysis
According to a recent white paper from Renewable Waste Intelligence, there are two key issues facing the biofuels industry: consumers and vehicle manufacturers must be persuaded to adopt new, more environmentally friendly gasoline blends; and advanced biofuels manufacturers must demonstrate commercial capability and play catch-up to Environmental Protection Agency targets for production. With feedstock prices high for several feedstocks, including …
Fulcrum BioEnergy Raises $175M
Fulcrum BioEnergy has raised $175 million to fund construction of the Sierra BioFuels Plant, its first municipal solid waste (MSW) to low-carbon fuels plant. The monies will also be used to fund the development of other projects. The company had been moving toward an initial public offering (IPO), but with the capital raised, has postponed its IPO plans. “With our recent success …
Human Waste to Biodiesel Project in Ghana A Go
A pilot facility has gone online in Ghana to convert human waste, or fecal sludge (FS), into biodiesel. The event was celebrated on World Toilet Day where researchers at Columbia University’s Engineering School in conjunction with Ghana with Waste Enterprises, Ltd., the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, are working together to take …
FuelCell Plant in the Works in Cheyenne, WY
A stationary fuel cell power plant to support Microsoft’s data center research project in Cheyenne, Wyoming is in the works. The power plant will use renewable biogas generated by a wastewater treatment facility as the fuel source to generate clean, carbon-neutral electricity. The project will be used by Microsoft to evaluate the effectiveness of using FuelCell Energy power plants to …