$3 Million+ to Go to CT Biodiesel Producers, Schools

John Davis

rell11Three universites in Connecticut will share more than $900,000 in state grants to test biofuel quality as well as to study different production methods and feedstocks, and another $2.2 million in grants will go to four biodiesel production facilities to help leverage at least $6 million in private investment.

This press release from Gov. M. Jodi Rell has details:

“My Administration has long invested in a range of programs to help Connecticut become less dependent on traditional energy sources,” Governor Rell said. “My Energy Vision for a Cleaner, Greener State calls for investment in alternative energy sources to reduce our reliance on expensive imported sources such as oil and gasoline. Building a biofuels industry in Connecticut will not only meet that goal but help create jobs.

The University of New Haven will receive $135,276 to identify species of algae from Long Island Sound that could be cultivated to produce biodiesel. Yale University will receive $69,752 to research algae feedstock growth optimization.

The University of Connecticut will receive two separate grants: One grant of $598,244 will be used to develop the capability for remote monitoring and build a biodiesel testing laboratory. A $97,000 grant will be used to conduct research on catalysts for conversion of biomass into biofuel.

The Production Facility Grant Program recipients are:

* Greenleaf Biofuels, LLC ($1,281,322): Greenleaf Biofuels will be a biodiesel production plant in New Haven Harbor area with an estimated capacity of 6.7 million gallons per year. Its primary markets will be heating oil and transportation fuel. Greenleaf Biofuels will use a diverse range of raw materials including waste and virgin vegetable oils. The grant will be used to help fund construction and equipment costs.Read More

Biodiesel, Government

German Biodiesel Taxes Open Opportunity for US Company

John Davis

globalearthenergyAn increase in taxes on biodiesel in Germany is expected to decrease that country’s production of the green fuel. But since Germans’ appetites for biodiesel are unlikely to be lessened, an American company sees the tax hike as a chance to move into the large European market.

This press release from Global Earth Energy, Inc. says there’s opportunities in the feedstock and actual biodiesel sales:

Global Earth Energy, Inc. anticipates the opportunity to export the biodiesel produced at their chemical plant in Leland, NC. Due to the increase in taxes on biodiesel in Germany, there has been a decrease in the production of the alternative energy fuel. With the decline of sales and production overseas, there is an excess amount of feedstock, the raw material used to produce biodiesel. Feedstock is the largest cost in manufacturing the fuel source but Global now has the option to buy the feedstock at a discounted price from German sources. The slowdown could also expand Global’s growing market of alternative green energy to Europe.

Now if Global Earth Energy sees opportunity in this, wouldn’t that mean there’s opportunity for other American biodiesel makers? I would think so. We’ll keep our eye on this to see what happens. Stay tuned!

Biodiesel, International

Plenty to See & Do at Biodiesel Conference

John Davis

biodieselconference20091Got a reminder in my e-mail today about the upcoming National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Feb. 1-4, 2009, in San Francisco.

There will be a ton of things to see and do, ranging from hearing Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer Melissa Etheridge talking about how biodiesel has inspired her… to information on the sustainability efforts being made in the biodiesel industry. There’s so much going on, the National Biodiesel Board is inviting career journalists working for news outlets such as daily newspapers, magazines and network affiliate news programs to take the complimentary media registration and cover all the events:

Media are invited to take a bay tour the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 3, on the Red and White ferry fleet which uses biodiesel. The company owner and staff will be on hand to answer questions. Another media event is a planned Ride-and-Drive, to be held Sunday, Feb. 1.

The conference will also feature musician Melissa Etheridge on her belief in and use of biodiesel. As always, educational tracks and networking opportunities will abound. The conference will focus on sustainability, with educational sessions on the vital topic built in throughout the four-day event. One focus will be emerging biodiesel feedstocks such as algae. At scheduled press events, you will have access to the industry’s top leaders and latest news.

Media registration is available by clicking here. Of course, if you can’t make it to the conference, Domestic Fuel will be covering the events. We’ll see you there!

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Big Investment for Corn-Oil Biodiesel

John Davis

greenshiftGreenShift Corporation has announced it has received a $38 million investment to produce 20 million gallons per year of biodiesel from corn oil, squeezed from the corn used in ethanol plants.

This release posted on MarketWatch.com says GreenShift use the money to build twelve corn oil extraction facilities and to expand the capacity of GreenShift’s NextDiesel biodiesel refinery in Adrian, Michigan to 20 million gallons per year:

GreenShift’s biodiesel production model is based on the integration of its patent-pending corn oil extraction technologies into corn ethanol production facilities to extract crude corn oil from distillers grain, a co-product of ethanol production. GreenShift installs its extraction technologies at its expense and then purchases the extracted oil for a price that is indexed at a discount to the price of diesel fuel. This hedges GreenShift’s biodiesel production margins and provides important benefits to participating ethanol clients, such as:
— increased revenue and earnings;
— decreased commodity and financial risk;
— decreased utility consumption and carbon emissions; and,
— enhanced biofuel yield from corn.

GreenShift’s extraction technologies are currently in use at four corn ethanol plants in Michigan, Indiana, New York and Wisconsin, and GreenShift has executed contracts to deploy its extraction technologies at a number of additional U.S. ethanol plants.

“Our view is that the established corn ethanol infrastructure is the most practical pathway in North America to cost-effectively increase the production and use of carbon-neutral biofuels at globally-meaningful scales,” said Kevin Kreisler, GreenShift’s Chief Executive Officer. “To continue to accomplish this in a competitive and environmentally-superior way, existing corn ethanol facilities must evolve to achieve improved production efficiencies. We intend to contribute to that evolution. We look forward to the completion of this investment and delivering the financial and environmental benefits of our patent-pending corn oil extraction technologies to our ethanol clients at an accelerated pace.”

Usually, ethanol producers turn each bushel of corn into 2.75 gallons of ethanol. This process will expand the biofuel content of a bushel of corn to nearly three gallons.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Freightliner Introduces First Hybrid-Electric Class A Motorhome

John Davis

winnebagoadventurerhybrid2Looking to make a cleaner world and give better mileage to its customers, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) has introduced the first hybrid-electric Class A motorhome chassis in the industry.

This company press release says the innovative ecoFRED™ chassis shows significant improvements in fuel economy compared with traditional gas pullers:

Fulfilling the tagline “Driven by You,” the ecoFRED prototype was engineered to address environmental and fuel-savings priorities identified by FCCC’s motorhome customers. ecoFRED also is in line with Daimler AG’s (Daimler) “Shaping Future Transportation” global initiative focused on reducing pollutants and fuel consumption.

Equipped with the Eaton® hybrid-electric system, ecoFRED features all the attributes FCCC customers have come to expect from the FRED™ motorhome chassis.

ecoFRED, so named because of its increased fuel economy and ecological/ environmental benefits, has the additional benefits of significantly less brake wear due to regenerative braking, leading to lower replacement costs. It also boasts better acceleration and increased towing capacity, and operates similar to driving an automatic transmission.

The release goes on to point out that the RV was built in collaboration with Winnebago:

Bob Olson, Winnebago Industries chairman, CEO and president added, “Winnebago Industries has a rich tradition of creating innovative fuel-efficient motorhomes, and we’re pleased to have partnered with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation on developing the ecoFRED chassis concept used in our Winnebago Adventurer Hybrid concept vehicle.”

Miscellaneous

Biodiesel Board Congratulates Vilsack Nomination

John Davis

vilsackThe National Biodiesel Board continues to like what it sees when it comes to the incoming Obama Administration.

The primary advocacy group for the green fuel sent out congratulations to former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack who was nominated to serve President-elect Obama as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture:

Following the announcement, Joe Jobe, the CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), released the following statement:

“Governor Vilsack is an excellent choice to head the Department of Agriculture (USDA). His executive experience as governor along with his unwavering support of biofuels reflects the President-elect’s commitment to biodiesel, an issue he had highlighted as a priority during his campaign.

“There is no question Secretary-designate Vilsack will face many challenges in the future, but I am confident in his ability to promote the economic, environmental and energy benefits of biofuels and ensure that policy at the USDA will benefit both agriculture producers as well as the biodiesel industry.”

Vilsack’s nomination… and approval by the NBB… comes on the heels of four other NBB-pleasing nominations earlier this week: Dr. Steven Chu, who has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy; Carol Browner, who was named to the new position of White House Coordinator of Energy and Climate Policy(commonly called the Energy Czar); Lisa Jackson, who will head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Nancy Sutley to serve the President-elect as the lead White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Government, Indy Racing

Energy Crisis to Energy Security

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol plays a role in a new book about current energy issues.

Energy Crisis to Energy Security book“From Energy Crisis to Energy Security” is a collection of essays edited by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Clifford D. May for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which is “a nonpartisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that threaten democracy,” according to their website.

The book includes a foreword by R. James Woolsey and other contributors include Robert McFarlane, Robert Zubrin, and Rick Tolman, among others.

Energy, Ethanol

Plant Shut Off Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Keeping on a mechanism in plants that naturally shuts down cellulose production could play a key role in enhancing biomass production for plant-based biofuels.

Purdue cellulose researchPurdue University researcher Nicholas Carpita says they have discovered that small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) play a normal role in plant development by shutting off genes involved in primary cell wall growth in order to begin development of thicker, secondary cell walls.

“If we can learn to interfere with the down-regulation of cellulose synthesis, then plants may be able to produce more cellulose, which is key to biofuels production,” Carpita said.

A Purdue team made the discovery in barley after introducing a virus as a way to “silence” specific genes and study their functions. The researchers noticed that the virus had more effect then anticipated.

Carpita said this let researchers see that the siRNAs – among other things – regulate and shut down primary cell wall development to begin secondary wall growth. “These secondary stages result in characteristics such as tough rinds of corn stalks, vascular elements to conduct water and fibers for strength,” he said.

The researchers said that delaying or preventing the shutdown of both primary and secondary cellulose production might enhance total plant biomass.

Carpita’s research team reported its findings in the December 15 early online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News, Research

Ethanol Industry Provides Green Jobs Input

Cindy Zimmerman

At the request of the Obama administration transition team, the Renewable Fuels Association last week submitted discussion ideas for an economic stimulus package partially designed to create green jobs and spur the green economy.

RFAAccording to a statement from RFA, “Some have misconstrued this communication as a request for federal assistance or a bailout. To the contrary, the RFA recognizes that by stimulating increased production, innovation, and investment in new technologies and cellulosic feedstocks, a revitalized renewable fuels industry can help bail out the flagging US economy and lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil.”

RFA says the ethanol industry has helped support the creation of more than 238,000 “green” jobs last year alone as well as helping to revive struggling rural economies.

Organization representatives say they will continue to have discussions with the Obama team on how ethanol fits into a green stimulus package. “America’s ethanol producers share the vision of President-elect Obama of a domestic industry that is innovating to include ethanol production from a wide array of materials including switchgrass, wood chips, and municipal solid waste. That vision can only become a reality if today’s ethanol technologies and producers are successful.”

Ethanol, Government, politics, RFA

Hydrogen Could Be Built for Warehouses

John Davis

Hydrogen-powered cars might be having a little trouble taking off in the U.S., but the clean power source might be built for the one area that might have heavier traffic this time of year than the highways: warehouses.

This story from SeekingAlpha.com says hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power has sold 220 fuel cells to Franklin Park, Ill.-based Central Grocers, Inc. which will be using them in their forklifts at a new distribution center in Joliet, Ill:

Using fuel cells powered by hydrogen delivered from an Air Products (APD) fueling system will save Central Grocers the cost of batteries and the system to recharge them, Plug Power said in a news release.

Using fuel cells also cuts down refueling time to about two minutes once or twice a day, versus batteries that need four to six recharges a day and can take hours to complete, Air Products said.

Fuel cell companies like Hydrogenics Corp. and Oorja Protonics are also targeting the forklift market. Fremont, Calif.-based Oorja’s fuel cells for forklifts have a twist – they use methanol, rather than pure hydrogen, as a fuel, a choice that the company says eases the cost and complications of refueling.

The article goes on to point out that warehouses are a natural for hydrogen power, as they can keep their fueling and charging stations nearby. Plus, they burn incredibly clean with water as the only “exhaust.”

Hydrogen