Biofuels Digest has announced its “Hottest 50 Companies in Bioenergy” for 2009/2010. The top of the list? Solazyme, a company specializing in developing renewable oils. The list is determined by a combination of a 75-member panel of international selectors and votes from Biofuels Digest subscribers, and is one of the most coveted by bioenergy companies. Last year, Solayme was ranked …
Good News, Bad News: Brazil to Send US, EU Biodiesel
This is one of the good news, bad news stories. The bad news is: According to this story in World Energy Alternatives, Brazil wants to start sending soy-based biodiesel to the U.S. and the European Union. That word comes the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry: Sustainability studies have been performed to prove the biodiesel was produced sustainably to meet EU norms, but …
Synthetic Biology for Next-Generation Biofuels
The 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, is in full swing in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and I had the opportunity to listen in to a webinar sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The session focused on the technical and commercial advances in the use of synthetic biology for next-generation biofuels. Four companies participated in the panel and …
DOE Announces $85 Million for Algal and Advanced Biofuels
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that they would offer up to $85 million in funding for the development of algae-based biofuels and advanced, infrastructure-compatible biofuels. The funding comes as part of the funds released from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The goal of the monies is to bring together a group of leading algae and …
Making Biodiesel from Microbes and Sugarcane
A California biotechnology company has found a way to turn the waste from microbes eating sugar into biodiesel. This story from DailyTech.com says that the Amyris Biotechnologies plant is capable of producing 10,000 gallons a year and is being tested in Brazil. In addition, it could make biodiesel even more price competitive: While biodiesel and biofuels are not exactly a …
Doubts About Meeting Cellulosic Ethanol Goals
Experts are expressing doubts the U.S. will meet targets for cellulosic ethanol production required under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but the need remains to make it happen as soon as possible. The legislation calls for the production of 4.3 billion gallons by 2015, but during a House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing this week, Dr. Howard Gruenspecht with …
Cal Company Produces Sugarcane Biodiesel
A California biotechnology company has opened a biodiesel plant that makes the green fuel from sugarcane. This story from Cleantech.com says Emeryville, Calif.-based Amyris Biotechnologies opened the first of its two pilot plants in its home state with plans to open four commercial-sized plants in Brazil in the next couple of years: The 2.4 million gallon-capacity pilot plant in Emeryville …
US-Brazilian Companies Team Up for Sugar Cane Biodiesel
With the Brazilian massive sugar cane crops being turned into ethanol and Americans leading the way in biodiesel production, it was just a matter of time before these two biofuels giants put their heads together to combine the best of both worlds. This Reuters story says U.S. company Amyris Biotechnologies and Brazil’s Crystalsev, a sugar and (naturally) ethanol producer to …
Renewable Energy Investments Up 50% in 2007
Venture capital (VC) investments in renewable energy sources, including solar, biodiesel, and ethanol (among others) hit $3.4 billion… up a whopping 50 percent over investments in green energy ventures in 2006. This story from RenewableEnergyAccess.com has more information: Investment in solar was more than $1.05 billion in more than 70 financing rounds. Investment in battery technology came to $433.9 Million …