Earlier this year we caught up with Alan Novak, Director of Alternative Fuels for Emerson Process Management, to discuss last December’s BioEnergy Summit.

In that post we touched on how, depending on your perspective, biofuel and bioenergy production represent either unmitigated hype and controversy on the one hand, or the potential promise and hope for a sustainable clean energy future based, in part, on an abundant renewable fuel source on the other.

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It is clear that algae is “hot” - but as is often the case with hot, there is no shortage of hype. A recurring theme throughout the day was the common mis-percepton of algae biofuel as “cheap and easy” and a one-size-fits-all solution to the world’s fuel energy needs.

Not so fast.

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Courtesy of Reuters, here is a list of cellulosic ethanol plants currently operating or under construction in the US. We’ve been following a number of these companies over the last year, and I’ve linked each company name to either something we’ve written about them or their company website.

For more background on cellulosic ethanol, see: Dedicated Energy Crops Could Replace 30% of Gasoline.

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This according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization as they presented key findings from a Bio Economic Research Associates (bio-era™) research report entitled U.S. Economic Impact of Advanced Biofuels Production: Perspectives to 2030.

The research analyzed how the growth of the advanced biofuels industry will impact four areas critical for recovery of the U.S. economy: job creation, economic output, energy security, and investment opportunity. The report forecasts that 190,000 new direct industry jobs will be created, with $37 billion dollars in direct economic growth, by 2022. 

The impact throughout the economy could be as much as $148.7 billion, creating 807,000 jobs within the same 2010-2022 period. 

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On Wednesday, BP anounced a joint venture with Verenium to build the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol facility.  BP’s total investment—now $112.5 million—will be the largest by an oil company in advanced, non-food-based biofuels.

The Florida-based plant would be 25 times larger than Verenium’s existing (and operational) cellulosic ethanol facility in Louisiana, which began operation earlier this month and is expected to produce 60+ million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year when at full capacity. This new, larger facility is schedule to break ground in 2010 and commece operations in 2012.

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We’re not counting the Olympic Station that sells B20 to mostly fleet vehicles and trucks or the op-op that used to operate in SoMa. Here, we have an honest to goodness B100 (or rather B99.99999) biodiesel station for autos. All the Mercedes and converted vehicle owners can rejoice at not having to drive to the East Bay or San Mateo to fill up their tanks. Even better, we can all rejoice at the fact that the station owners get their fuel not from GMO corn or switchgrass or any food but rather from San Francisco’s own waste grease program, so we can all be proud when consuming those greasy fries.

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The BioRefinery/BioEnergy Summit, taking place on December 11th, is hosted by Emerson Process Management, a company that specializes in analysis, measurement, and automation of industrial processes and plant operation for oil & gas and other heavy industry. Emerson’s goal is to bring to bear their experience in plant operation, process automation, and analysis for the emerging biofuel industry. By establishing best practices for the biofuel industry, large-scale commercial production becomes viable.

I had an opportunity to speak with Alan Novak, Emerson’s Director of Alternative Fuels, about the upcoming summit and the outlook for biofuel and bioenergy.

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Monsanto, one of the worlds largest Genetically Modified Organism (G.M.O.) seed companies, is slated to acquire Aly Participacoes Ltda., which operates the Brazilian sugarcane breeding and technology companies, CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A.

Incidentally, as sugar cane expands in southern Brazil, soy production is heading northward, encroaching on the Amazon and causing mass deforestation.”

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/11/04/gmo-seed-company-monsanto-invests-in-biofuels/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/23/uk-starts-worlds-largest-algae-biofuel-initiative/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/23/uk-starts-worlds-largest-algae-biofuel-initiative/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:37:42 +0000 Jerry James Stone http://gas2.org/2008/10/23/uk-starts-worlds-largest-algae-biofuel-initiative/ Great Britain hopes that algae-based biofuels can reduce automotive and aviation emissions by 2030, and cut overall emissions by 80% by 2050.

While food-based biofuels are taking the heat for rising food prices, other solutions - like algae - are gaining a more serious following. For example, the UK’s Carbon Trust has announced plans for a project to make algae bio-fuels a commercial reality by the year 2020

But the situation is much more than some “food vs fuel” finger pointing. The fact that transport accounts for one-quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions is major driving factor - pun intended: it’s also the fastest growing cause of carbon emissions in the UK. If the government’s target to reduce overall emissions by 80% by 2050 is to be met, then initiatives like this are crucial.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/23/uk-starts-worlds-largest-algae-biofuel-initiative/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/20/can-e-coli-help-make-biofuel-production-more-efficient/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/20/can-e-coli-help-make-biofuel-production-more-efficient/#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:52:30 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://gas2.org/2008/10/20/can-e-coli-help-make-biofuel-production-more-efficient/ In a breakthrough discovery announced today, scientists have found that a bit of E. coli could help put biofuel waste products to good use, and increase profits for the producers too.

Glycerin, a common biodiesel waste product, has become so abundant amid the rise in biofuel use that producers often have to pay to dispose of the chemical. Researchers at Rice University discovered that when combined, E. coli and glycerin produce succinate, a useful chemical that can be sold at a profit.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/20/can-e-coli-help-make-biofuel-production-more-efficient/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/18/landscaper-to-fuel-truck-fleet-with-own-biofuel-crop/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/18/landscaper-to-fuel-truck-fleet-with-own-biofuel-crop/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:30:23 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://gas2.org/2008/10/18/landscaper-to-fuel-truck-fleet-with-own-biofuel-crop/

A large Florida landscaping business has planted a 22-acre biomass crop at its nursery that will produce enough fuel to operate its fleet of 25 diesel trucks.

Brian Shank, president of Clermont Scapes in Groveland, Florida, said he decided to plant a 22-acre plot of Jatropha in order to save money for his hurting business, but also to set an example for other companies looking for cost-effective ways to help the environment.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/18/landscaper-to-fuel-truck-fleet-with-own-biofuel-crop/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/27/france-says-non-to-biofuel-tax-breaks/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/27/france-says-non-to-biofuel-tax-breaks/#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:48:39 +0000 Adam Shake http://gas2.org/2008/09/27/france-says-non-to-biofuel-tax-breaks/ Citing higher oil and grain prices, the French Government said it will phase out tax breaks for biofuels by 2012.

On Friday the French government dropped the hammer on companies like Sofiproteol — who owns the country’s largest biodiesel maker, Diester Industries. In a statement the government they said:

“The cost price of biofuels is no longer structurally disconnected from those of standard fuels. Tensions affecting agricultural raw materials have reached levels that no longer justify tax exemptions on the grounds of helping to provide outlets for farm production.”

In other words, the French government thinks that the rising price of oil and corn and grain has made the biofuels industry profitable enough to stop the tax breaks.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/27/france-says-non-to-biofuel-tax-breaks/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/23/dow-chemical-and-ford-motor-co-to-join-forces/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/23/dow-chemical-and-ford-motor-co-to-join-forces/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:15:40 +0000 Adam Shake http://gas2.org/2008/09/23/dow-chemical-and-ford-motor-co-to-join-forces/

Editor’s Note: This post is a guest contribution by Adam Shake.

The symbiosis between cars and chemically-produced biofuels is growing closer as Ford Motor Company and DOW Chemical Company announced plans yesterday to hold a National Convention to discuss the future of manufacturing, technology, energy and the environment.

Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Dow Chemical Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Liveris are scheduled to discuss “The National Summit,” which will take place June 15-17 2009, at Ford Field, the home of the Detroit Lions.

“The United States can no longer afford to take economic leadership for granted,” Ford said in a statement issued Monday by the economic club. “The National Summit offers a rare opportunity for leaders to come together to address the issues that impact our global competitiveness.”

DOW Chemical, who may be best known for its supply of Agent Orange to the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War, also made Chlorpyrifos, marketed as Dursban.  Dursban was a home and garden insecticide (now banned for home use) and is also a nerve toxin that has been associated with reproductive and developmental toxicity. One study claims that Dow has contributed to 80% of the Chlorpyrifos burden of the United States.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/23/dow-chemical-and-ford-motor-co-to-join-forces/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/hurricane-ike-hobbles-us-biggest-biodiesel-producer/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/hurricane-ike-hobbles-us-biggest-biodiesel-producer/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:31:03 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/hurricane-ike-hobbles-us-biggest-biodiesel-producer/ Texas biodiesel producer GreenHunter Energy says that hurricane damage to its gulf coast refinery — currently the largest in the nation — will take it out of production for 6 to 8 weeks.

The GreenHunter facility is capable of producing 100 million gallons of biodiesel per year (Mgy) using a combination of animal fats and vegetable oils. Prior to Hurricane Ike, they had been ramping up production and last Friday announced that they had achieved a 65 Mgy output. It’s unclear how the hurricane damage will affect their time frame for reaching full capacity.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/hurricane-ike-hobbles-us-biggest-biodiesel-producer/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/03/changing-locomotion-in-midstream-californias-ethanol-mandate-part-3/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/03/changing-locomotion-in-midstream-californias-ethanol-mandate-part-3/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:38:20 +0000 Alexis Madrigal http://gas2.org/2008/09/03/changing-locomotion-in-midstream-californias-ethanol-mandate-part-3/ Editor’s note: Part three of Alexis Madrigal’s series on California’s ethanol mandate focuses on the challenges of transporting the fuel.

III. How to Move A Billion Gallons of Fuel from Iowa to California

Back in the 1980s, with smog choking American cities, the government decided to tinker with the gasoline hydrocarbon formula to create cleaner burning fuels. The easiest way to do that is to add a little oxygen to the gas. Adding O2 is a little like blowing on a flame: the controlled fire inside your car’s engine burns a little more efficiently and thus a little cleaner, reducing toxic air pollutants, carbon monoxide, and ozone.

Spurred by state and Federal regulations but committed to selling the most petroleum they could, oil companies found the cheapest oxygenate they could, a crude-derived chemical called MTBE. Subsequent environmental impact studies determined that MTBE was a groundwater pollutant, and in 1999, then-Governor Gray Davis ruled that all MTBE had to be removed from California’s gasoline by the end of 2002 (though the phase out was extended).

That left the state casting around for an alternative way to get extra oxygen into its gasoline blend while maintaining the smog-control benefits of the previous blend, and quick. They settled on ethanol, the only scaleable oxygenate available.

“This actually was a major shift in a lot of different things. The phase out was something extremely rapid. It required [the oil industry] to use the only other oxygenate alternative, which was ethanol,” says Rahul Iyer, a founder of the biofuels infrastructure startup Primafuel.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/03/changing-locomotion-in-midstream-californias-ethanol-mandate-part-3/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/06/bp-invests-90-million-in-vereniums-cellulosic-ethanol-technology/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/06/bp-invests-90-million-in-vereniums-cellulosic-ethanol-technology/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:11:54 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/08/06/bp-invests-90-million-in-vereniums-cellulosic-ethanol-technology/ It seems that BP is trying to make up for lost time — the worldwide oil giant has invested $90 million in cellulosic ethanol company, Verenium. This is BP’s first foray into the world of cellulosic ethanol (ethanol derived from non-food crops), and man is it a gigantic one.

The money will be distributed to Verenium over the next 18 months, with a likelihood of further investment and cooperation beyond that point. Under the agreement, BP will have broad access to Verenium’s research, production facilities, and technology.

Although relatively late to the fray, BP thinks this investment gives them the “most advanced technology for transforming [cellulosic material] to biofuels,” as Sue Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels North America said.

Verenium claims to have the edge in cellulosic ethanol production through genetic engineering of the microbes required to turn the cellulosic material (switchgrass, wood chips, sugarcane bagasse, miscanthus) into ethanol.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/08/06/bp-invests-90-million-in-vereniums-cellulosic-ethanol-technology/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/01/dedicated-energy-crops-could-replace-30-of-gasoline-ceres-inc-wants-to-make-it-happen/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/01/dedicated-energy-crops-could-replace-30-of-gasoline-ceres-inc-wants-to-make-it-happen/#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:25 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/08/01/dedicated-energy-crops-could-replace-30-of-gasoline-ceres-inc-wants-to-make-it-happen/

Ceres, Inc. supports the prediction that we could grow more than 30% of US transportation fuel with dedicated energy crops. This is no pipe dream: planting starts next spring.

Ceres, Inc., the self-described “energy crop company,” is engineering plants that could play a big role in the future of sustainable biofuels. In stark contrast to food crops, what Ceres is in the business of creating are “dedicated energy crops”—like switchgrass, sorghum, and miscanthus—that are ideally suited for fuel production.

While the global “food vs. fuel” debate rages on, a few companies like Ceres are quietly moving forward with next generation technology that challenges many of the current assumptions about growing fuel. In their view, it’s time to move the conversation on from corn-based controversy to second-generation, non-food based sources of ethanol.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/08/01/dedicated-energy-crops-could-replace-30-of-gasoline-ceres-inc-wants-to-make-it-happen/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/31/gas-20-attending-gm-cellulosic-ethanol-backgrounder-on-feedstocks-tomorrow/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/31/gas-20-attending-gm-cellulosic-ethanol-backgrounder-on-feedstocks-tomorrow/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:27:46 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/07/31/gas-20-attending-gm-cellulosic-ethanol-backgrounder-on-feedstocks-tomorrow/

Tomorrow, General Motors is hosting a backgrounder on cellulosic ethanol feedstocks at the Thousand Oak (CA) based laboratories of Ceres, Inc.

Coverage of non-food based ethanol tends to focus on fuel production technologies, but Ceres works one step further up the supply chain: they’re using genetic technology to engineer plants optimally suited for conversion into something you’d want to put in your gas tank.

I’ve already had the chance to speak with Richard Hamilton, President and CFO of Ceres, about the potential to produce super-strains of perennial grasses like sweet sorghum and switchgrass, and I’m looking forward to hearing more details tomorrow.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/31/gas-20-attending-gm-cellulosic-ethanol-backgrounder-on-feedstocks-tomorrow/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/san-francisco-fryer-oil-skirmish/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/san-francisco-fryer-oil-skirmish/#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:48:56 +0000 Keith Rockmael http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/san-francisco-fryer-oil-skirmish/ As if there isn’t enough bio-diesel controversy over the food for fuel debate now we have a little skirmish arising here in San Francisco. When we walk by any San Francisco restaurant (particularly the ones that have that delish yet oh so bad for you fried cuisine) we can smell where this fuss originated – the fryers. Yes, it’s that oh so wonderful french fry grease that companies like Blue Sky Bio-fuels and Got Grease work with to create biofuel. To us this method makes much more sense to reuse old oil and grease than to the create fuel directly from real food.

In this case the grease skirmish remains between the City of San Francisco and the private sector. Both Got Grease and Blue Sky pick up grease (usually for free) from small restaurants, but now the City jumped into the fryer and collects it as well. The fact that the City collects the oil isn’t a problem but the fact that the City has been using health inspectors to secure oil from the restaurants smells like burnt oil to us. Apparently a letter from the City exists that says something to the effect of “The City has been so busy collecting restaurant oil that we haven’t had time to write up violations.” Should we call this mess “Greasefellas”?

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/san-francisco-fryer-oil-skirmish/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/23/biodiesel-station-in-san-francisco-coming-soon/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/23/biodiesel-station-in-san-francisco-coming-soon/#comments Fri, 23 May 2008 15:37:47 +0000 Keith Rockmael http://gas2.org/2008/05/23/biodiesel-station-in-san-francisco-coming-soon/

It’s hard to believe that one of America’s greenest cities lacks a true biodiesel station. Yes, San Francisco has an Olympic station on Third Street however is only supplies commercially licensed diesel vehicles with “B20” which even in the controversial biodiesel world isn’t that green. If the building and fire departments sign off, then Dogpatch Biofuels will open in the near future. Yes, we can wait to smell all the great restaurant cooking oil waste from SF’s top level eateries filled into the hungry car engines.

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