Algae is all the rage as the next great feedstock for biodiesel… although the longtime champion for the green fuel, soybeans, might not be ready to give up its crown to the green pond scum.
One the one hand, you have guys like Riggs Eckelberry, the CEO of Origin Oil… a company that develops technology to turn algae into oil that can be turned into biodiesel. He was featured in a recent episode of PBS’s Nova Science Now talking about the potential of algae being made into the renewable fuel. I talked to him about the future of algae as the ultimate biodiesel feedstock. Eckelberry believes that soybean-based biodiesel, while a great start for the industry, is not sustainable in the long run.
But the folks at the United Soybean Board might take issue with that contention, pointing out that soybeans provide an important feed for animals while also providing the feedstock for high-quality biodiesel… getting food AND fuel out of the same bean. And the USB recently released a study that shows American farmers were able to pocket an extra $2.5 billion dollars over the last four years because of the extra value biodiesel has added to their soybean crops.
Leonard Kosar, CEO of Hero BX… formerly known as Lake Erie Biofuels… a biodiesel maker that uses a variety of feedstocks, tells us that while there will be new feedstocks developed, we should not forget that the biodiesel industry was built on soybeans.
It’s an interesting conversation, and you can hear more of it here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/DFCast-9-18-09.mp3]
One of the most oil-rich countries in the world will be making ethanol from excess dates. Iraqi government has approved a plan to produce the clean burning alernative in attempt to boost their economy. 
Prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the country produced more than 900,000 ton of dates per year. The country only used about 150,000 ton so the remaining was exported. However, since 2003 the market for Iraqi dates has dried up to the point where only about 350,000 ton of them are produced annually.
The Sundance award winning documentary, 
Snapping a photo of his daughter stopping to smell the flowers paid off for Rich Johnson of Omaha, Nebraska who has been named the winner of the 
As the winner, Johnson received a $1,000 fueling card, presented by RFA Director of Market Development Robert White. “Educating consumers is all about engaging them where they live and in ways that motivate them to act,” said White. “Based on this contest alone, tens of thousands of Americans were exposed to ethanol-related information, many for the first time.” White says Heather Litton of Westerville, Ohio, won the Most Voted Award and $100 in fuel for her photo entitled “Ethan.”
In what’s being characterized as an “historic national program” that would dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy for new cars and trucks sold in the United States… vehicles that can run on B20, a 20 percent blend of biodiesel… will be considered flexible fuel vehicles.
A couple of years ago, I told you about how the Utah Department of Transportation was planting safflower, camelina, canola and perennial flax in a safety strip along Interstate 15 and then crushing the seeds to make biodiesel (see 
General Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of 
General Clark rose to the rank of four-star general after nearly 40 years of service in the U.S. Army. He has lead Growth Energy since February 2009, working to increase American energy independence by expanding the use of environmentally-friendly ethanol. 
“This is our first new plant relationship since our acquisition of C&N and is a real demonstration of the confidence placed in Mansfield and C&N as a thriving, independent marketing partner,” said Douglas Haugh, EVP of Mansfield Oil. “Our strengths are logistics, marketing, and the supply chain automation technology that refiners are increasingly requiring of their ethanol suppliers. Working transparently with great producers like Heron Lake, we can improve netbacks for plants. Meanwhile, we reduce costs for customers by slimming transportation and administrative costs across the supply chain.” 
The partnership will allow the Heron Lake facility to manage and forecast their costs and margins as well as giving them access to C&N’s nationwide market that consists of refiners and blenders.
Receiving a lot of attention is the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car. This futuristic vehicle is a diesel hybrid plug-in, but costs a fortune to make. The powertrain provides acceleration to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.8 seconds, and its average fuel consumption is near 62.6 miles per gallon, BMW reported. “This is a very far look into the future,” [Dirk Arnold, BMW product communications manager] said. “Maybe this would be possible for production with some completely new diesel engine or other new technology, but for the next five years the advantage of combining diesel and electric systems is relatively low compared to the tremendous cost.”
Researchers at University of Georgia will be turning forest and agricultural waste into biodiesel.