Two Big Wins for Amyris

Joanna Schroeder

Amyris is having a busy week. Yesterday, they announced a partnership with Tate and Lyle Ingredients Americas, Inc (a subsidiary of Tate and Lyle) for them to produce farnesene. Amryis will take the farnesene and produce farnesane, the company’s unique diesel molecule that forms the basis of its renewable diesel. The product will be manufactured in Tate and Lyle’s facility in Decatur, Illinois.

Then today, the company announced even bigger news – the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has increased its official registration of their renewable diesel fuel, raising the registered blend level with ultra low sulfur diesel from 20 to 35 percent. To date, this is the highest blend level awarded by the EPA for commercial sale diesel fuel. The company was able to improve its registration by submitting additional fuel property data, third-party testing, engine testing conducted by major diesel engine OEMs, and highway validation tests.

Amryis was able to conduct a portion of the testing through an Integrated Bio-Refinery Program grant they received this past April from the Department of Energy.

“Obtaining the highest EPA awarded blend level registration validates the high performance properties of our renewable hydrocarbon diesel,” said Amyris CEO John Melo. “We are producing a true No Compromise fuel – a renewable diesel that eliminates the critical challenges plaguing biofuels while still enabling dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas and tail pipe emissions for vehicles, from passenger cars through heavy-duty trucks.”

Biodiesel, biofuels

CEC Awards $9.6M in Energy Grants

Joanna Schroeder

Good news today for several California biofuel producers. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved eight grants worth more than $9.6 million along with $11,969,855 in private funds. Each winning project demonstrated its ability to reduce petroleum use, reduce pollution and provide jobs. The categories of industry that were eligible for funding included biofuels, manufacturers of electric vehicles and batteries, and the addition of vehicle charging stations.

The money for the projects came from the CEC’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Transportation program. All winners had to match the grants with private funds.

“Three years ago California crafted innovative legislation that is paying dividends in ground-breaking advances in transportation,” said Energy Commissioner Anthony Eggert. “Partnerships between government and the private sector are encouraging new industries that can rebuild California’s manufacturing base. The projects the Commission approved will improve California’s economy and its environment by fostering green, clean advancements in transportation.”

  • • Biofuel production – $1,989,101 to Great Valley Energy LLC to test the feasibility creating biofuel from a crop new to the Central Valley – sweet sorghum.
  • • Biofuel production -$1,900,000 to the City of San Jose to build and demonstrate a new system that turns trash into natural gas that can be used as a transportation fuel.
  • • Biodiesel production – $1,000,000 to East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to make an estimated 300,000 gallons of biodiesel each year at its existing wastewater treatment plant in Oakland.
  • • Biodiesel distribution – $69,233 to the Western States Oil Company to convert an existing, 8,000-gallon retail tank used for premium gasoline into one that can dispense wholesale biodiesel.
  • • Electric vehicle manufacturing: $1,000,000 to TransPower, a clean-energy company headquartered in Escondido, to study the feasibility of manufacturing large electric-drive trucks in or near San Pedro by 2013.
  • • Electric vehicle components: $505,381 to San Francisco-based Mission Motor Co. to help it bring its prototype electric vehicle components to commercial production.
  • • Electric vehicle components: $2,962,743 to Leyden Energy Inc., to help it create a production line capable of assembling its lithium-ion cells into 10 battery packs per month for its partner in the project, electric vehicle manufacturer Green Vehicles of Salinas.
Biodiesel, biofuels, Electric Vehicles, Natural Gas, Waste-to-Energy

USDA Looks Into Pennycress for Biodiesel

John Davis

The USDA is looking into turning a common weed into biodiesel.

Researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found that field pennycress, better known in some circles as stinkweed, puts out a large amount of oilseeds good for making the green fuel:

Field pennycress belongs to the Brassicaceae family, along with canola, camelina and mustard-other prolific producers of oil-rich seeds. The ARS studies help support USDA’s efforts to develop new sources of bioenergy.

At the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill., chemists Bryan Moser, Gerhard Knothe and Terry Isbell and plant physiologist Steven Vaughn formed a team to study field pennycress’ potential.

The scientists obtained oil from wild field pennycress, pretreated it with acid, and used a type of alcohol called methanol to react with the field pennycress oil to produce both biodiesel and glycerol. After some additional refining, the finished biodiesel was tested to see if it met the biodiesel fuel standard established by the American Society for Testing and Materials. The results suggested that, with some work, the previously problematic pennycress could become a commercial commodity.

The ARS goes on to say that pennycress oil is attractive for biodiesel because of its low cloud and pour points, 14 degrees Fahrenheit for clouding and for pour, well below the cloud and pour points of soybean oil-based biodiesel. In addition, pennycress can be grown in the winter and harvested in the late spring, allowing farmers to still have a summer soybean rotation.

Biodiesel, USDA

Butamax Unveils Biobutanol Lab in Brazil

Joanna Schroeder

Today, Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC, a partnership between BP and DuPont to develop biobutanol, announced the opening of a biobutanol technology laboratory in the city of Paulínia, São Paulo state, Brazil. Butamax CEO Tim Potter joined Ricardo Vellutini, DuPont do Brasil’s President and Vice President of Agricultural Products for Latin America, for a ribbon cutting ceremony. Media were also welcome to tour the facility.

“The new laboratory was built to accelerate the path to commercial market entry for cane-to-biobutanol production,” said Potter.

Butamax believes that sugarcane is the most efficient feedstock for the production of biofuels and the lab will focus on optimizing the cane fermentation process. The company’s technology can be used with a range of feedstocks including starch-based crops such as corn, and in the future, cellulosic feedstocks such as energy grasses. The company also feels that Brazil’s strong economy and existing expertise in the biofuels industry makes it the perfect strategic location for producing biobutanol and adds some diversity to its biofuels mix.

Butamax believes that biobutanol complements the success of the ethanol industry and offers several key advantages including its ability to be blended at higher concentrations than ethanol delivering twice the renewable energy in every liter of gasoline. Another advantage over ethanol is that it can be used in vehicles with no modifications and can be transported via pipelines.

The company believes that its proprietary technology is a game changer and as such, has focused across the biofuel value chain. They have been researching the technology on a global scale in anticipation for their commercial launch.

biobutanol, Brazil, Company Announcement, Ethanol

Advance to the 2011 Biodiesel Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

nbb 2011 conferenceIt is time to start thinking about the next National Biodiesel Conference, coming up February 6-9 in Phoenix. Registration is now open with special early bird discounts until available until November 19.

The theme of the 2011 conference is “Advance” – reflecting the fact that biodiesel is classified as an advanced biofuel by EPA under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). “The EPA’s final rule making made it very clear that biodiesel, from all domestically produced feedstocks, is not a conventional biofuel,” says National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe. “It is in the category of advanced biofuel.”

The RFS2 will be a primary focus of the conference in February, according to Jobe. “By the time we get to the conference in February, the RFS2 program will be critically important to drawing demand and getting the biodiesel industry moving again,” Jobe says. “So the centerpiece of this conference is going to be all about the RFS2 and how we’re going to have an 800 million gallon plus market in 2011.”

The last two years have been a struggle for the industry, but there are plenty of people who still believe in the future of the sustainable fuel. The NBB is asking for people who believe in biodiesel to submit brief video statements about why they do. “We’re going to use the most interesting ones to use in video intros and segues at the conference,” said Jobe. More information about the “I believe in biodiesel” video project can be found on the NBB website.

Listen to an interview with Joe Jobe about the 2011 National Biodiesel Conference here: Joe Jobe Interview

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB

New Blender Pumps in Michigan

Cindy Zimmerman

ethanolGrowth Energy has partnered with Cooperative Elevator and Ignash Petroleum to install Michigan’s second and third blender pumps.

The Cooperative Elevator pump will be installed in Sebewaing on Monday, November 8 and the Ignash pump was installed in Elkton last week. The companies received assistance to install the pumps – which offer varying blends of E30, E40, E50 and E85 – through Growth Energy’s 2010 E85 and Blender Pump Program. Both retailers said their companies decided to sell mid level blends in order to give consumers greater access to domestically produced renewable fuel.

“We think that it is important to support renewable fuel and especially to support our local economy. By offering blends of E30, E50 and E85 we are giving people more options,” said Charlotte Ignash, VP of Ignash Petroleum. “We want to give our customers choices other than E85 and no-lead, support our members markets, become more environmentally friendly, and accommodate the flex fuel vehicles,” added Tim Sielaff, V.P. of Petroleum for Cooperative Elevator Co.

To celebrate the installations, Cooperative Elevator Co. and Ignash Petroleum will both hold open houses on Friday, November 10. To date, Growth Energy has helped install more than 90 E85 and blender pumps across the country through their grant program.

blends, Ethanol, Growth Energy

UNICA Urges Congress to End Ethanol Tariff

Joanna Schroeder

“As the dust settled on a midterm election that significantly altered the political landscape, voters sent a clear message that cutting the deficit and ending wasteful government spending should be top priorities for Congress. Americans will be watching closely to see if lawmakers got the message. Eliminating ethanol subsidies and trade protection would be a good way to indicate that they did,” writes Joel Velasco, UNICA Chief Representative of North America in response the the Mid-Term Election results that took place across the U.S. on November 2, 2010.

Similar to two years ago when President Obama was elected, Americans asked for change. Only this time, its wasn’t Democrats they were asking to help make it. Republicans made a strong gain in this election with their promises of balancing the budget, cutting wasteful spending, fixing the economy, and creating jobs.

Along these same lines, UNICA has been heavily campaigning in recent months to end the ethanol tariff and open up the marketplace for ethanol. They argue that this will help save Americans money at the pump, create greater diversity, and provide access to cleaner alternatives like sugarcane ethanol.

Velasco continued in his blog post, “Democrats and Republicans have vowed to work together on this issue, hinting that the days of $6 billion per year in ethanol tax credits could be over when they expire on December 31. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee told Bloomberg News that “[t]here are folks who ideologically don’t want to see the tax credit,” noting that the election results were sure to strengthen that viewpoint.”

The U.S. corn ethanol industry may be getting the message on competition and the need to remove trade barriers on cleaner, more affordable energy,” writes Velasco. “During a conference call with reporters this morning, the president of the Renewable Fuels Association [Bob Dinneen] reiterated his support for setting the ethanol tax credit and import tariff at the same amount – a concept industry insiders refer to as “parity”.

Velasco concluded, “The next several weeks will be an important litmus test in determining whether or not Congress has truly heard the American people. Tough decisions will be need to be made to cut the deficit and restore fiscal responsibility and bipartisanship to Washington. Ethanol policy is a good place to start.”

Brazil, Ethanol, UNICA

More Cellulosic Ethanol Investment Needed

Cindy Zimmerman

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has lowered its projection for cellulosic ethanol production in 2011, which means investment in next generation biofuels is more important than ever.

EIAIn a recent letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson, EIA administrator Richard Newell noted that they are now projecting cellulosic ethanol production will be just 3.94 million gallons next year, below the 5.3 million gallons projected in May as the target under the Renewable Fuels Standard in 2011. The estimate is based on EIA’s analysis of current projects and publicly available information regarding the potential for future projects. The agency anticipates only four companies will be capable of producing cellulosic ethanol next year.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says encouraging investment in cellulosic ethanol is critical to meeting the goals of the RFS and should be important to the new Congress. “In that context, there will have to be a robust debate about how best to assure the continued growth and evolution of the ethanol industry, how to effectively attract capital to cellulosic ethanol technologies, how to commercialize other advanced biofuels like algae and butanol,” Dinneen said during a conference call with reporters this morning. “I constantly talk about not just the growth in the industry, but the evolution of the industry, and that means allowing the commercialization of new technologies to continue.”

According to Dinneen, an expanded cellulosic biofuels producer tax credit with a broader range of eligible advanced biofuels and the ability to allow developers to elect a refundable 30% investment tax credit would be a good way to help advanced biofuel commercialization.

biobutanol, Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA

What Election Means for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association LogoRenewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen held a conference call with reporters this morning to discuss what yesterday’s historic election results may mean for ethanol policy, both for the rest of this year and in the next Congress.

“Washington will be a more Republican town in January,” Dinneen said. “Will that have a meaningful impact on the U.S. ethanol industry? I believe the answer to that is no.”

Dinneen stresses that ethanol is a bi-partisan issue and while a few strong ethanol supporters, including Rep. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota, were defeated yesterday, there were many more that won. “And more importantly, for the most part, those that were defeated were replaced with equally strong advocates for value-added agriculture and ethanol,” he said.

The biggest issue facing the ethanol industry right now remains the expiration of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) at the end of the year. “Anyone would be foolish to predict what will happen with the incentive, it remains an uphill battle, but last night’s overwhelming message is that voters want Congress to do something about the economy and about jobs. Allowing the tax incentive to expire would risk jobs in a very important domestic energy center and across rural America,” said Dinneen.

Listen to Dinneen’s opening statement here. RFA's Bob Dinneen Comments on Election Results

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, politics, RFA

INEOS Awards $100M Contract to Build Bioenergy Facility

Joanna Schroeder

INEOS Bio has awarded Tucker, Georgia-based AMEC a $100 million contract to build its BioEnergy Center in Indian River County, Fla. Once completed, the plant will be one of the first commercial waste-to-energy plants and the first one built using INEOS’s advanced BioEnergy Technology.

When the facility is completed, it will produce 8 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year and will also produce 6 megawatts of renewable electricity generated from various types of biomass including yard waste, municipal solid waste, wood, and vegetative waste.

“This is a key milestone in bringing INEOS Bio’s advanced Bioenergy technology to the US and global markets to help address the world’s waste management challenges,” said Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio. “We offer a sustainable solution for energy independence which breaks the food-for-fuel chain and provides a plentiful supply of renewable bioenergy for new and developed markets.”

The BioEnergy Center, which will be located in Vero Beach, Fla. and the project is getting underway as the region faces a 16 percent unemployment rate. The construction phase of the project will provide 175 jobs in addition to 50 full-time jobs in the Treasure Coast community once the biofacility is complete. Just last month, the project received its major permits and approvals from the State of Florida and the U.S. Government.

“INEOS Bio’s partnership with AMEC brings us one step closer to opening the state-of-the-art BioEnergy Center in Indian River County, where it will bring both renewable energy and new green jobs,” said Mark Niederschulte, COO of INEOS Bio. “We’re confident that AMEC’s experience and expertise in the biofuel sector will help INEOS New Planet BioEnergy accomplish a successful and timely completion of the much anticipated BioEnergy Center.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Waste-to-Energy