It’s What Michigan Wants

Cindy Zimmerman

Meijer Michigan-based retailer Meijer opened its first E85 ethanol fueling station this week in Warren, MI. According to a company release, the pump is one of 20 which will be installed at Meijer gas stations across the state before the end of this year.

In April, Meijer, General Motors, CleanFUEL USA and the State of Michigan announced a collaborative partnership to increase awareness and use of the ethanol based fuel. As part of the partnership, local GM dealers will help promote the new refueling stations when customers purchase its FlexFuel vehicles.

“Michigan is home to one of the largest concentrations of GM’s E85 flexible fuel vehicles in the country, with more than 140,000 in use — many by GM company vehicle drivers working right here at the GM Technical Center,” said Elizabeth Lowery, GM Vice President of Environment and Energy.

Meijer operates more than 175 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky

Car Makers, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles

MU Economists Study Ethanol Impact

Cindy Zimmerman

Fapri Demand for ethanol is shifting Midwest acreage away from soybeans and into corn, according to a University of Missouri agricultural economist.

“Ethanol has major implications for corn acreage,” Pat Westhoff with the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute said in an MU press release. New FAPRI projections indicate fewer acres planted to soybeans and wheat as more acres are planted to corn to meet ethanol demand.

“Ethanol production has doubled in the last four years and is projected to double again over the next four years,” Westhoff told the annual Breimyer Seminar on the MU campus this week. The theme of the agricultural policy discussion was “BioFuels: An Agricultural Revolution?”

Westhoff’s power point presentation can be viewed on the FAPRI website.

Ethanol

Developing Corn For Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

Testing For StarchI just finished up a day at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. in Raleigh, NC. Although I blogged the event on AgWired I did run into an interesting story about ethanol. Syngenta is developing an amylase enzyme trait into corn which they hope to have on the market by 2008. In this picture a Syngenta scientist is conducting a simple iodine test for starch. That’s because the amylase enzyme speeds up starch conversion to sugar.

Currently ethanol plants have to add the enzyme to the mix during processing of corn into ethanol. By creating a corn plant with the amylase already in it they can shorten the process and eliminate a whole step. They also hope it will bring a premium for corn growers.

Bruce HowisonThe head of marketing for Syngenta Seed is Bruce Howison. I interviewed him this afternoon. He talks about the process and what this new enzyme trait will mean to ethanol plants and growers. I also asked him about the concerns some people have over the whole food vs. fuel issue. He says Syngenta is committed to making crop acreage more productive to feed the world but believes there’s room for a fuel business too.

Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Bruce: Listen To MP3 Bruce Howison Interview (4 min MP3)

Audio, Biotech, Ethanol, Production

Georgia on Xethanol’s Mind

Cindy Zimmerman

Xethanol Xethanol Corporation has announced plans to construct a 50 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in Augusta, Georgia which would begin producing ethanol by mid-2007.

According to a company release, the plant will be constructed on the site of a Pfizer pharmaceutical manufacturing complex that Xethanol will be closing on within 30 days.

Christopher d’Arnaud-Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Xethanol, says the plant “is being designed to run on a variety of feedstocks and we are already securing the necessary feedstock streams from the forest products industry to run at capacity when we begin production by mid-2007.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol

2006 Soya Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

Soya Summit Soybeans for both food and energy will be discussed at the 2006 Soya Summit, September 18-20 in St. Louis.

The energy track presents leaders from Washington State University, Toyota, Dupont, Pioneer, the National Biodiesel Board, New Energy Finance and Sigma Capital along with consultants such as Scott Susich, K. Shaine Tyson and Bill Hudson, to provide a unique, clear-eyed look at the current and future biofuels industry. A companion workshop will show potential investors how to evaluate biofuels opportunities.

Click on the link for more information.

Biodiesel

Making the Switch

Cindy Zimmerman

Switchgrass
USDA ARS USDA’s Agricultural Research Service says switching to switchgrass would make sense to make ethanol. A report in this month’s ARS magazine says “this deep-rooted carbon-storing perennial has great biofuel production potential.”

This native perennial has been shown to store more soil carbon than the major U.S. farm crops. They found that switchgrass stores most of its carbon deep underground….The reason for this depth advantage lies in the fact that switchgrass has an extensive root system—with some roots as long as 8 feet—so much of the plant’s carbon is in its roots and the belowground crown tissue just above them.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research

DuPont Biofuels Strategy

Cindy Zimmerman

DuPont DuPont research scientists outlined the company’s biofuels strategy at the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing held in Toronto. According to a release, DuPont biofuels research manager William Provine said the three-part strategy entails: (1) improving existing ethanol production through differentiated agricultural seed products and crop protection chemicals; (2) developing and supplying new technologies to allow conversion of cellulose to biofuels; and (3) developing and supplying next generation biofuels with improved performance.

Cellulosic, Miscellaneous

Focus on Ford in London

Cindy Zimmerman

Ford has been generating ethanol excitement this week at the British International Motor Show in London with its Ford Focus FFVs.

Ford announced that UK supermarket giant Morrison’s – which recently became the first retailer to sell “bio-ethanol” – became the proud owner of the 1,000,000th Ford Focus FFV sold in the country.

The company also announced that the Focus is the first FFV to be backed by discounted insurance, and that a new study measured the Focus FFV emissions at under 100 grammes of CO 2 per kilometer – lower than comparable vehicles using hybrid technology.
Cabriolet
Ford also unveiled the snappy little number in the photo with a name that sounds like a French wine – Coupé-Cabriolet. This concept car was one of three new FFVs Ford has on display at the show.

In addition, Ford announced it’s intention to invest at least £1 billion to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in the UK.

Car Makers, Ethanol

Toyota “Considering” FFVs

Cindy Zimmerman

Toyota While all of the “Big Three” U.S. car makers are pushing their lines of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol, Toyota continues to mull it over.

A press release this week quoted Toyota Motor North America president Jim Press saying, Toyota is strongly considering introducing a flex-fuel vehicle program in the U.S. “We’re already developing vehicles that can operate in ethanol-rich Brazil and we’re optimistic that we can offer similar vehicles to American consumers.”
He said Toyota is also pursuing a plug-in hybrid vehicle that would be capable of traveling greater distances without using its gas engine, with the ultimate goal of conserving more oil, reducing smog and greenhouse gases to near zero emissions levels.

Press made his comments in a talk at the National Press Club (no relation to him), and numerous media outlets picked up the story out of DC from their own perspectives. The Chicago Sun-Times headlined that Toyota was “charging ahead with plans for plug-in hybrid.” Detroit Free Press noted that Press ” stopped well short of committing Toyota to bringing either technology to the U.S. market.” Associated Press headlined with Press’ denial that Toyota was thinking of hooking up with GM and buried the ethanol/plug-in angle about mid-article. Bloomberg focused on the plug-ins.

Car Makers, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles

Bush Praises IRL Ethanol Use

Cindy Zimmerman

IRL at the White House The Indy Racing League made a White House call Tuesday to meet with President Bush and talk about racing and ethanol.

Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. presented the president with an autographed racing helmet and IRL CEO Tony George “shared a brief exchange” with Bush about ethanol, according to an IRL news release. The IndyCar Series is using a 10 percent ethanol blend this season and will convert to 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol for all races in 2007.

“You’re leading edge, leading edge,” said Bush, who has touted exploration and support of alternative fuel sources in his State of the Union address for the past two years.

Tom Slunecka, executive director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, was pleased with the president’s recognition of the IRL’s ethanol use. “We appreciate the sentiments of the Bush administration, which has been a long-time supporter of ethanol, and together with its efforts to bring more ethanol to the consumer, we believe ethanol can take our country a long, long way.”

EPIC, Ethanol, Government, Indy Racing, Racing