NEC 2027

Electric Vehicles to Dominate Detroit Auto Show

John Davis

Electric vehicles will be the big talk of this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan.

Design News says the event, which takes place over the next two weeks, will give more than 500,000 visitors the chance to see the latest and greatest in auto technology, including the green-powered ones.

electricavenue1One key for the giant exhibition, traditionally a showplace for production vehicles, is the addition of a 37,000-sq-ft display area called Electric Avenue. The new area will serve as an expo for 12 manufacturers of electric vehicles, ranging from traditional automakers, such as Nissan and Mitsubishi, to entrepreneurial firms, such as SSI Racing and Saba Motors. Electric Avenue will be sponsored by Dow Chemical Co., which is involved in the development of electric vehicle battery technology.

“It’s an excellent venue for the public to see some of the vehicles that you don’t normally hear about,” noted Bill Perkins, president of Detroit Auto Dealers Assn. (DADA).

The article goes on to say that Electric Avenue will be complemented this year by a display area known as EcoXperience, which will provide visitors with a look at the battery and electric motor technology that’s making its way into the auto industry.

Car Makers, Electric Vehicles

Investigators Find Cause of Biodiesel Plant Explosion

John Davis

imperium-logoCompany investigators say they have found the cause of the explosion last month at the Imperium Renewables biodiesel plant near Grays Harbor, Washington state.

The DailyWorld.com reports a 10,000-gallon glycerin neutralization tank became over-pressurized to the point of an explosion when sulfuric acid caused an unexpected exothermic reaction:

“Personnel were unaware of the potential for such a reaction,” spokesman John Williams wrote in the release, “and the processing equipment itself was not designed with physical or mechanical safeguards to prevent an oversupply of sulfuric acid.”

Imperium CEO John Plaza said in the release the company is planning to install new mechanical safeguards to prevent a similar increase in the acid ratio from reacting in the future.

“We are taking steps to make sure this cannot, and does not, ever happen again,” he said.

Company officials say they are working on getting the plant back online but didn’t give a timeline as to when the repairs would be complete.

Biodiesel

Arizona Biofuels Workshop

pinal_energyPinal Energy, Arizona’s first ethanol production facility, will be holding a biofuels workshop on Tusday, January 12, 2010 to assist station owners in converting stations to install biodiesel and/or E85. The workshop will be held at the Hilton Phoenix Airport.

The agenda includes: Mark Ellery from Caljet; Introduction to Biofuels by Andrea Martincic of Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association (APMA); E85 and Biodiesel Basics by Colleen Crowninshield, Clean Cities; Regulatory Requirements by Duane Yantorno of ADWM; All About Ethanol by John Skelley of Pinal Energy; Arizona’s Biofuel Conversion Program by Mark Ellery of Caljet; and Conversion of Existing Infrastructure by Brent Erikson of Cochise.

Currently, there are 28 E85 fueling facilities in the state of Arizona to fuel the nearly 115,000 flexible fuel vehicles in the United States. This workshop is intended to assist in bringing more stations to fuel the surplus of vehicles.

Biodiesel, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

DMC Green Launches First Alternative Fuel Dealers’ Group

dmc_greenDMC Green, Inc. have organized their first alternative/renewable fuel dealers’ group to support the growing number of DMC Green fuel program dealers now in operation in California. According to their press release, under the DMC Green brand, these dealers currently offer ethanol, biodiesel and electric car charging in addition to their major oil company fuel brands.

Launched at an inaugural kick-off meeting on January 6, 2010 in Sacramento, the DMC Green Dealers’ Group brought together DMC Green’s research support teams to support existing gas station dealer-owners that have purchased the turn-key DMC Green alternative/renewable fuel installation package. The open forum meetings are scheduled to take place 4 times per year.

“DMC has been a very supportive partner and their program has exceeded my expectations”, says Robert Takhar, owner of Robert’s ARCO in Woodland, CA. “Vehicle traffic has definitely increased which increases our fuel sales as well as sales in our AM/PM convenience store.”

The DMC Green Dealer’s Group meetings provide a working discussion round-table where dealers can stay abreast of the rapid growth and regulatory changes in the green fuel market and where dealers can share experiences with their peers. “More importantly, these meetings help us find ways to increase dealer profitability through our research programs.” says Andy McCargar, Director, Market Development for DMC Green.

Biodiesel, blends, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Brazil May Reduce Level of Ethanol Blends

Joanna Schroeder

Ethanol pump at a Petrobras station in Sao Paulo

Ethanol pump at a Petrobras station in Sao Paulo

With a shortfall of sugarcane due to excessive rain, Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes announced that they are considering reducing the amount of mandatory ethanol blended with gasoline. Today, all stations are required to sell gasoline mixed with a minimum of 20-25 percent ethanol. If enacted, the change could take effect as soon as this week but Stephanes has not disclosed what the new percentage will be.

Above average rainfall plagued Brazil over the past few months, slowing down the harvest, and ultimately, some sugarcane was left in the field. Consequently, the region of Sao Paulo, the number one producing state of both sugarcane and ethanol, saw its ethanol production numbers down by 8.3 percent compared to last year. According to UNICA, (Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association) the region will product 5.86 billions gallons from this harvest.

The rain has also caused ethanol prices to rise at the pump leading to a reduction in hydrated ethanol sales, a trend that began surfacing in June 2009. According to UNICA, this reduction, “is a consequence of higher hydrous ethanol prices at the pump resulting from a combination of weather-related difficulties during the harvest and the approaching inter-harvest period which normally lasts from December to April the following year.”  In addition to Brazil being “energy independent,” the country also boasts the largest fleet of flex-fuel vehicles in the world.


Ethanol, Ethanol News, International

Novozymes Receives $28.4 Million To Advance Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

nzflagbigNovozymes has received a $28.4 million tax credit to aid in the construction of the company’s new enzyme manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska. Specifically, Novozymes has received an Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit from the Obama administration. Once complete, the plant will produce enzymes used during the production of advanced biofuels and create more than 100 ‘green’ jobs. The tax credit will become available in 2012 and could save the company nearly $18 million per year in tax savings.

“We believe our selection for this tax credit is a reflection of the tremendous potential of advanced biofuels to create green jobs and contribute to meaningful reduction of greenhouse gases in the near-term,” said Adam Monroe, President of Novozymes North America. “Novozymes applauds the continued support of the Obama Administration to further the development of clean energy technologies like advanced biofuels.”

As part of the administration’s support for the development of clean technologies, monies were allocated as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to foster investment and employment for companies who are working to bring clean technologies to the marketplace.To date, a total of $2.3 billion has been awarded to 183 manufacturing facilities across 43 states.

Currently the blending facility went online in November 2009 and is currently shipping product throughout the world. Full production should begin mid-2012. Once the project is complete, Novozymes will have invested between $160-$200 million.

biofuels, Company Announcement, Ethanol, News

Biodiesel Conference Place to Discuss RFS-2

John Davis

NBB10 logoAs the EPA gets closer to implementing the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2), those attending this year’s National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Feb. 7-10 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas will have the chance to talk about and prepare for RFS-2:

This year’s implementation of the RFS-2 will be the single largest factor in biodiesel production and use.

The 2010 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is committed to providing attendees the tools that you need to navigate anticipated demand that could exceed 1 billion gallons in 2010.

The RFS-2 will drive demand to never before levels. Are you positioned to take advantage of this new, legislated demand? What about RINS and how those will be handled and administered?

NBB points out that administrators from the EPA will be there to provide insight and answer questions and is an opportunity you just can’t miss. You can register for the event here.

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB

Lee: Time to Build, Buy Biodiesel

John Davis

While 2009 is a year that most of the biodiesel market would most likely want to forget, at least one consultant is saying this year is the one for builders to build and buyers to buy biodiesel.

Wayne Lee, the CEO of the biodiesel consulting group, Lee Enterprises, says his advice is build or buy now:

WayneLee“Because oil is a limited commodity and it is my feeling that big oil sees the ‘handwriting on the wall’” says Lee. “They know that alternative fuels are here to stay” adds Mike Shook, partner in Agri Process Innovations. Shook adds that “just as government inaction made the smaller producers nervous, I look back at 2009 and note the massive investments that big oil has made in this industry”. Both Lee and Shook agree that the biodiesel industry is headed up in a big way. “This industry will continue to adjust to problems, and it will continue to grow” says Lee, “and just like many industries before it, the inefficient players will shake out and the efficient players will make money”.

Lee, who also owns altenative fuels brokerage company, National Business Brokerage, does not think the events are all by chance. “It seems just a bit odd to me that while the industry had several obstacles in 2009, big oil appears to have taken the downturn as an opportunity to enter a depressed industry very cost effectively”, said Lee. “It almost makes one wonder if there was some design to the way things happened.”

You can read more about Lee Enterprises here.

Biodiesel

New Enzyme Could Help Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Cindy Zimmerman

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have created a new enzyme that has the potential to create plants that are easier to convert into cellulosic ethanol.

“Increasing the ‘digestibility’ of plant matter is one main approach to making plants a viable alternative energy source,” said Brookhaven biochemist Chang-Jun Liu. Plants with less lignin in their cell walls are easier to break down and convert to fuel products.

The next step will be to see if it works in plants. The scientists will engineer plants with the gene for the new enzyme to see if it reduces the amount of lignin in the plant cell walls.

“Since we know less lignin makes cell walls easier to digest, this may be an effective biochemical approach to engineering plants for more efficient biofuel production,” Liu said.

Read more here.

Cellulosic, Government, Research

Growth Energy Introduces Market Development Newsletter

Cindy Zimmerman

fyi-newsletterThis week, the Growth Energy Market Development Team introduced the first edition of a new bi-monthly electronic newsletter. This newsletter will focus on issues associated with E85, flexible fuel vehicles and blender pumps. The E85 FYI Newsletter was first introduced by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) over ten years ago, and has been recently adopted by Growth Energy as the Market Development FYI Newsletter.

growth_energy_supportlogoThe first issue of the Market Development FYI Newsletter includes the following articles: Big Oil Letting Go of Retail Outlets; MSDS Sheets for Ethanol Blends; Missouri Opens First Blender Pump; Blender Pump Tax Fix Sought; States Offer Additional Infrastructure Tax Credits; E85 Makes Inroads on Cost and Availability; Dresser Wayne Promotes Blender Pumps; Member Spotlight and much more.

To sign up for the newsletter, click here.

E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Growth Energy