Cellulosic Breakthrough Announced at Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

A major breakthrough in the development of cellulosic ethanol was announced at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando Tuesday.

Novozymes launched the first commercially viable enzymes for production of biofuel from agricultural waste – Cellic® CTec2.

“We have been working on this for the past 10 years and promised our customers and the market to be ready by 2010,” says Novozymes’ CEO, Steen Riisgaard, who first started work on the project 30 years ago as a young researcher.

He says they are really focusing on using this new development on making ethanol from agricultural waste, such as wheat straw or corn cobs, to avoid the current controversy of indirect land use change. “Personally, I think energy crop are wonderful and should be part of our future, but I don’t want to see this beautiful development be blocked by people speculating about things,” he said.

Riisgaard gives lots of credit to the United States for moving toward renewable energy sources. “Other than Brazil, the US is certainly in the lead,” he said. “Corn based ethanol has paved the way in terms of establishing the infrastructure and it appears to us on the other side of the Atlantic to be a carefully orchestrated and well-executed plan.” But he stresses the importance of continued investment by both the public and private sectors to make cellulosic ethanol commercially viable.

Novozymes is in the process of contracting a plant in Blair, Nebraska to produce the enzymes. “It will be ready for production by the end of 2011 and will produce enzymes for both corn based and cellulosic ethanol,” he said.

Listen to or download my interview with Steen Riisgaard here:

Audio, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Ethanol’s Economic Impact

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Despite the bad economy and continued attacks by detractors, ethanol provided a significant economic impact for the nation in 2009.

According to “The Economic Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States” by economist John Urbanchuk, the economic activities of the ethanol industry put an additional $16 billion into the pockets of American consumers in 2009, added $53.3 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and displaced crude oil imports amounting to a value of $21.3 billion.

“While 2009 was a really rough year for the overall economy, the ethanol industry grew and expanded,” Urbanchuk said during the 15th annual National Ethanol Conference in Orlando on Tuesday, where he presented his findings. “I think it’s one of the shining stars in the manufacturing sector.”

Listen to or download an interview with John Urbanchuk from the 2010 NEC in the player below:

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

General Motors Executive Calls for More Ethanol Pumps

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

The vice chairman of Global Product Operations for General Motors told attendees of the 15th Annual National Ethanol Conference that his company will keep putting more flexible fuel vehicles on the road, but more ethanol pumps are needed to fuel them.

Tom Stephens said GM is committed to making more than half of their vehicle production flex fuel capable by 2012. “GM is spending about $100 million a year adding flex fuel capability to our vehicles,” he said. “We can’t afford to leave this capital stranded.”

He noted that the majority of flex fuel vehicles are in highly populous areas, especially the east and west coasts, while the majority of E-85 fueling stations are located in the Midwest. He advocates the use of blender pumps to allow retailers to put both mid and high level blends in the pumps so consumers can choose the right fuel for their vehicles.

However, when it comes to increasing the blend level to 15 percent ethanol, he added a note of caution. “We believe it’s critical to complete the planned testing of mid level blends to understand the impact on light duty fleet, off-road vehicles, boats and other equipment,” he said. “Until the results of these comprehensive durability tests are fully understood, we remain concerned about customers using fuels containing more than 10 percent ethanol. If ethanol gets a bad name, it will be bad for everyone.”

You can listen to or download Stephen’s speech in the player below and watch part of his talk here:

Audio, Car Makers, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Uncategorized, Video

Fagens Receive First RFA Membership Award

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) chairman Chris Standlee introduced a new award at the opening session of the 15th annual National Ethanol Conference to recognize individuals who have dedicated their time, energy, resources and ideas to making the ethanol industry and RFA what it is today. The first recipients of the award were Ron and Diane Fagen of Fagen, Inc.

“Member involvement fuels the engine of success,” said Standlee. “Given RFA’s nearly three decades of history there are many people to recognize who helped to build the industry.”

Standlee noted the Fagens’ commitment and leadership to the industry that has helped the industry become “the most energy efficient ethanol industry in the world.”

Fagen is the largest, most respected green energy design-builder in the nation. As President & CEO of the family-owned business, Ron Fagen has been involved in industrial construction since 1974.

I did a brief interview with Ron after he received the award about what Fagen Inc. is up to these days and his outlook on the industry, as well as his feelings about being the first recipient of the RFA Membership Award.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

State of Ethanol Industry is Strong

Cindy Zimmerman

Compared to last year, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen faced a much happier crowd for the opening session of the 15th Annual National Ethanol Conference.

“A year ago, at this event, we met amidst the worst economic climate since the Depression. Commodity markets were in upheaval, investment dollars had evaporated, gasoline demand was falling, production costs were rising, plants were closing and the very foundation of our industry and our economy was shaking,” said Dinneen. “At that time, I summoned Winston Churchill to admonish you, ‘When you‟re going through hell, keep on going!'”

Dinneen was happy to report that the industry did persevere and survive, “And now, I can say, with confidence and conviction, that the state of the U.S. ethanol industry is strong,” he said.

Among the accomplishments for the industry, Dinneen noted 15% growth, reopening 14 plants that had been previously idled, starting up 8 new plants, and adding1.5 billion gallons of capacity. The ethanol industry contributed $53.3 billion to the economy, along with 400,000 jobs and reducing oil imports by 364 million barrels.

There is an online photo album started from the event for your viewing pleasure: 2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Read the text of Dinneen’s speech here – listen to or download it in the player below – see the video in the previous post:

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, Uncategorized

Live Speech from NEC

Melissa Sandfort

We’re broadcasting the opening general session live from National Ethanol Conference. Afterward we’ll be posting a recording of it your you to view at your leisure.

*Post update*

Below is the recorded video of the opening general session which includes comments from Renewable Fuels Association chairman Chris Standlee, President and CEO Bob Dinneen and part of the first session on the RFS2.

Watch live streaming video from zimmcomm at livestream.com

2010 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference

VW Picks Drivers for Biodiesel-fueled Races

John Davis

Twenty-five drivers, including 16 new ones, have been chosen for the third season of Volkswagen’s 2010 Jetta TDI® Cup, an SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned event that features young drivers (16 to 26 years old) driving practically identical VWs running on a 5 percent biodiesel blend.

This VW press release says the racing begins in April:

“Our third year for the Jetta TDI Cup is already shaping up to be the best one yet,” said Clark Campbell, Motorsport Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We were given the extremely difficult task of selecting only 25 drivers from a such diverse group of individuals who, honestly, all deserve the chance to compete. With 16 new drivers and 9 more returning from previous seasons, the field is undoubtedly set for top-notch competition and racing excitement.”

Drivers will race in ten Jetta TDI Cup events spanning seven road courses in the United States and Mexico in identical, factory-prepared and maintained Jetta TDIs running on clean diesel fuel. The series Champion will win $100,000 toward career development support from Volkswagen, while every driver who competes in the series will earn a Pro Racing license from SCCA at the finish of the season.

You can see the complete list of drivers and the race schedule here.

Biodiesel

Renewable Petroleum Co. to Produce Biodiesel in Fla.

John Davis

While most of the renewable energy news coming out of Florida this week is about ethanol with the National Ethanol Conference going on in Orlando, a California renewable petroleum company has announced it will be making biodiesel in the Sunshine State.

Biomass Magazine reports that LS9 will retrofit an existing fermentation facility in Okeechobee to make its UltraClean Diesel and chemicals on a demonstration scale with commercial scale production to follow:

“The beauty of this facility is that it’s scalable,” said Jon Ballesteros, spokesperson for LS9. “It already has the large, commercial-scale equipment.” Using LS9’s proprietary one-step fermentation process, the demonstration facility will be producing 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of renewable transportation fuel by the end of the year, according to the company. After testing and demonstrations are complete, scale up can begin.

The demonstration plant will initially run on sugar cane syrup provided by local suppliers, Ballesteros said, but will also be utilized in testing other feedstocks such as wood chips and agricultural waste. “We will test and optimize the use of sugars derived from cellulosic biomass,” he said.

Ballesteros declined to release a cost estimate for the project. “But the facility has much of the equipment we need, so the retrofit will not require extensive capital outlays,” he said. The six-month construction process will create 30 to 50 jobs, along with 15 to 20 once operational, according to LS9. Purchase agreements for the biodiesel are still being discussed with a number of interested parties, he added.

The company goes on to say the new facility will demonstrate LS9’s one-step manufacturing process is ready and capable of bringing low-cost, low-carbon fuels to market … good for the company and biofuels in this country.

Biodiesel

Climate Change at Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

The mood is definitely a little brighter at this year’s National Ethanol Conference compared to last year. You can tell that the industry is in a better place and the climate has changed with plants reopening and the economy turning back around.

The theme of the conference is “Climate of Opportunity” and the program officially opened this evening with the welcome reception, sponsored by Fagen, Inc., which followed the annual golf tournament. The opening general session will kick off at 8:00 am Eastern time on Tuesday morning and we will be live streaming the state of the industry address by Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.

We will also be hearing from Paul Machiele with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the new RFS2 rule, debate indirect land use change, view the international landscape for ethanol and get the perspective of the automotive industry from Tom Stephens of General Motors.

The Flickr photo album is started here – 2010 National Ethanol Conference photos

Join us for continuing coverage of the conference this week on Domestic Fuel.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Two New Ethanol Plants on Horizon

Joanna Schroeder

Bionol Clearfield, LLC, a 110 MMgy ethanol plant based in Clearfield, Pa is officially in production according to general manager Roger Schmidt. Performance testing began on February 8th and today, the plant is running at 100 percent. This is the first ethanol plant in the state and will use corn to produce the ethanol. According to Schmidt, the plant’s advantage is that it is located close to several New York blending terminals which will help ethanol to break into that marketplace.

Ethanol Producer Magazine also announced that North Carolina’s first ethanol plant, Clean Burn Fuels, is nearing completion. The biorefinery will will produce 60 MMgy of corn-based ethanol and 175,000 tons of dried distillers grains per year. In the article, Doug Archer the general manager, anticipates that the plant’s first grind is less than eight weeks away.

Both of these plants will come online at a time when the market is turning more favorable for ethanol. On February 3, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced is expanded rules for the Renewable Fuels Standard. Of special note, is that corn-based ethanol, when compared to conventional gasoline, lowers greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 20 percent. In addition, all new corn-based ethanol plants are now considered compliant with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that states that all conventional biofuels much reduce GHG emissions by at least 20 percent.

Company Announcement, Ethanol, Ethanol News