Domestic Fuel

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week launched a new energy website to provide quick access to the agency’s energy efficiency and renewable energy data.

The website, usda.gov/energy, provides access to all USDA energy resources, including: agricultural, forestry, economic, and social data. This is done in part through a set of new complementary web-based tools: the USDA Renewable Energy Investment Map, the Renewable Energy Tool and Energy Matrix. These tools focus on USDA’s energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy investments and projects; provide information and data to a broad spectrum of stakeholders; and empower the user with the ability to easily navigate USDA’s energy web resources. In addition, the site provides a link to all USDA state and local offices and energy resource coordinators.

The new website was welcomed by the Ag Energy Coalition (AEC). “USDA’s Energy portal demonstrates the positive impact the Farm Bill energy title and related programs are having on job creation, national security, and the environment,” said Coalition co-director Lloyd Ritter. “The Ag Energy Coalition believes Rural America will be a continuing force for change in the advancement of sustainable energy and renewable chemicals production in the years ahead. With the right policies in place, and requisite funding, the promise of a rural renaissance focused on clean energy solutions will become a reality.”

The Ag Energy Coalition includes a membership of organizations and companies representing a variety of clean, renewable energy and bioproducts stakeholders.

Advanced biofuels can be commercialized rapidly for military use, on military timelines, with adequate support and coordination of efforts by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Energy, according to comments submitted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) to the Air Force’s Request for Information on the commercial status and market for advanced drop-in biofuels.

“The U.S. military and the nation as a whole face a significant national security threat from U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy and ongoing price volatility. The military requires access to adequate fuel supplies in strategic locations, and biorefineries producing advanced biofuels from multiple feedstocks represent perhaps the best option for meeting this military need,” said Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section.

Erickson noted that while individual advanced biofuel producers have achieved milestones toward commercial development of a diverse array of feedstock and technology combinations, full commercialization has been limited by the severely constrained market for private capital. “Coordination of efforts by the USDA, DOE and DOD to address the market challenges could significantly accelerate production of the volumes necessary to meet the energy security needs of the U.S. military,” Erickson said. “Some advanced biofuel companies already have worked with the Department of Defense (DOD) or with commercial airlines to test and certify advanced biofuel/petroleum blends, and more are poised to do so.”

The “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act” has been re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who introduced the bill at the end of the last Congress, once again put forth the bipartisan bill which will allow Civilian Agencies and Military Agencies to extend multi-year contracts from the current limit of 5 years to up to 15 years for the purchase of advanced biofuels.

“No one knows better than the Department of Defense that energy supplies are critical to combat troops and our national security,” Inslee said during the bill’s introduction on Wednesday. “To ultimately realize these goals, we must dramatically scale-up advanced biofuel production in the United States. With added Congressional authority to purchase longer-term contracts, our defense sector could adopt domestically produced sustainable fuels for the security of our troops.”

Brent Erickson with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) says the bill would help scale up advanced biofuel production in the United States. “Expanding the Defense Department’s ability to engage in long-term contracts would provide potential investors and advanced biofuel companies market stability when they commit capital to building new biorefineries,” said Erickson. “The Defense Department recognizes that domestically produced advanced biofuels are vital to our energy security, by for instance shielding the military from volatile energy supplies and prices.”

Canada’s first lignin plant is operational and producing lignin for Canadian researchers according to an announcement made during the 2011 BIO World Congress. The plant is owned and operated by FPInnovations who is working in partnership with the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) and AbitibiBowater. Lignin is a residual substance derived from the pulping process and in the biofuels process is broken down and converted into sugars, and ultimately biofuel.

The program partners are in the process of developing a black liquor and lignin evaluation centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. At the core is the lignin demonstration plant that ties directly into the black liquor stream of AbitibiBowater’s Thunder Bay kraft pulp mill. When fully operational, this one of its kind demonstration plant will produce up to 100 kg of lignin per day, which will be shipped to a network of R&D labs across Canada that are developing novel uses for wood products. Also located in this facility is a lignin characterization lab.

Lakehead University and its Biorefining Research Initiative will be closely linked to the ongoing research and will be training students and postdoctoral fellows at the facility.

“It is with cutting‐edge technologies and strong partnerships such as this one that FPInnovations is contributing to building the future of forestry in Canada,” said Pierre Lapointe, President and Chief Executive Officer for FPInnovations. “The strong ties to Lakehead University are key to keeping technology and knowledge in the North. This only strengthens Lakehead’s Biorefining Research Initiative and other related science programs by creating linkages with labs across Canada.”

The is a huge potential market for lignin‐based products. It can be used as a green alternative to many petroleum‐derived substances, such as fuels, resins, rubber additives, thermoplastic blends, nutra‐ and pharmaceuticals, and more.

Doug Murray, General Manager of AbitibiBowater’s Thunder Bay Operations, added, “The lignin evaluation plant provides us an opportunity to move wood‐based products beyond traditional markets. We are pleased to have this innovative lab at our mill site and look forward to continued progress. We feel very fortunate to be part of this initiative.”

View pictures from the 2011 BIO World Congress in my flickr photo album.

Royal DSM used the 2011 BIO World Congress as a platform to announcement several new initiatives. Yesterday, DSM CEO Ferke Sijbesma received the George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology. In addition, the company was part of a funding round for Verdezyne. The latest news is that they have announced a partnership with French company Roquette Frères to build a commercial scale plant in Cassano Spinola, Italy for the production of bio-based succinic acid sourcing local biomass as their feedstocks. The bio-based chemical alternative can be used in a broad range of applications including packaging and footwear. The plant is expected to be online in the second half of 2012.

Succinic acid is a chemical building block used in the manufacture of polymers, resins, food and pharmaceuticals among other products. Bio-based succinic acid, a renewable and versatile chemical building block, is an alternative to petroleum-derived chemical building blocks such as adipic acid and 1.4-butanediol. DSM is able to produce the biochemical at a lower cost than the conventional fossil-fuel based chemical giving it an economic advantage in the marketplace.

Rob van Leen, Chief Innovation Officer of DSM, said, “The time is right to capitalize on the tremendous progress we have made together with Roquette in the last two years. Our proprietary yeast-based fermentation process not only allows cost effective production; it also eliminates salt waste and other by-products and thus improves the overall eco-footprint of end-products. This bio-based chemical building block is a substitute for various fossil feedstock derived monomers and proves that the bio-based economy is no longer a distant prospect.”

This announcement is the next in a series since the partnership began in 2008. In 2010 DSM and Roquette opened a demonstration plant in Lestrem (France), which has been running at full capacity. The two companies have also announced their intention to establish a joint venture, which will be carrying out business under the name Reverdia).

“We are very encouraged with the development efforts in several new applications and are receiving favorable feedback from customers who have sampled ton quantities from our demonstration plant in Lestrem. The new plant in Italy will allow customers in Europe, North America and Asia to make larger volume commitments to their customers,” added Jean-Bernard Leleu, Deputy CEO and RID Director of Roquette.

To view photos from the 2011 BIO World Congress visit my flickr photo album.

BP Alternative Energy Ventures and DSM Venturing B.V. have both invested in renewable fuel and chemical company Verdezyne. The two companies were part of a funding round that also included additional monies from existing investors OVP Venture Partners and Monitor Ventures. The announcement was made today during the BIO World Congress underway in Toronto.

“We are thrilled to have these two industry leaders validate Verdezyne’s technology and its business strategy by taking a stake in the company,” said E. William Radany, Verdezyne’s CEO and president. “This new funding, along with the support from existing investors, will enable the company to execute on its goal of creating and deploying first-in-class engineered yeast strains that efficiently produce biobased fuels and platform chemicals.”

According to Verdezyne, they have significantly advanced its robust yeast production platform for their ethanol and adipic acid processes. The additional financing will allow the company to continue to build its yeast metabolic engineering capabilities to produce a pipeline of renewable transportation fuels and platform chemicals.

DSM VP of Biobased Chemicals and Fuels, James Lademarco, added, “Over the past year, we have been impressed with Verdezyne’s progress in its yeast platform for both fuels and biobased chemicals. We see this investment as strategic given the complementary activities to our own portfolio within Biobased Products and Services.”

You can view photos of the 2011 BIO World Congress in my flickr photo album.

Royal DSM Ceo Feike Sijbesma has received the George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology during BIO World Congress. In its 4th year, Sijbesma is being honored as a visionary leader of the bio-economy, an industry that the World Economic Forum projects will contribute nearly $250 billion to the world economy by 2020. Under his leadership, DSM has made several instrumental contributions in the development of industrial biotechnology that includes biochemicals, biofuels, health and nutrition and supporting sustainable development.

Sijbesma believes that over the next 100 years, the world will be shifting away from the Fossil Age into the third Green Industrial Age, an age based on not taking from the land, from developing feed, fuel and fiber from the land in a sustainable manner.

“The so-called fossil-age will make a shift to the bio-based economy. In two or three centuries from now, people will look back on our civilization as a merely brief moment in history where we in a period of just about 250 years shifted our total economy to coal, oil and gas,” said Sijbesma during his acceptance speech. “To make the shift back to living with, and especially off, nature, we need to start this shift now. We are at a turning point towards a next green industrial revolution to secure our feed and fuel needs in the future.”

Listen to my interview with Feike Sijbesma here: The Next Green Industrial Revolution Begins with Biotech

Sijbesma believes biotechnology holds the key to our future and will provide solutions for energy and food.
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The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing (BIO World Congress) kicked off this morning in Toronto, Canada with a bang. GreenField Ethanol, the largest producer of ethanol in Canada, announced the launch of G2 BioChem, a collaborative partnership that will validate and bring to commercialization GreenField’s innovative patented process technology. The partnership includes companies such as Novozymes and Andritz and the company has been given full support from a number of federal and Ontario programs including Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), Innovation Development Fund (IDF), Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) and Center for Research and Development in the Bio-economy (CRIBE).

“G2 BioChem’s technology is feedstock agnostic and optimizes next-generation ethanol yields using all available sugars,” began Barry Wortzman, President of G2 BioChem during the press conference. “Also, our process technology results in a low cost, per litre, which is essential to the viable commercialization of next generation ethanol.”

Listen to Barry Wortzman’s remarks during the press conference: Greenfield Ethanol Launches G2 BioChem

G2 BioChem’s research team has conducted thousands of trials and demonstrated success with various feedstocks including agricultural residues such as corn stover, corn cobs and bagasse as well as energy crops such as sorghum & miscanthus and woody biomass such as poplar.

“G2 BioChem’s advanced biofuels technology has the potential to fundamentally change the burgeoning renewable fuels and biochemical industries – while protecting our environment and boosting Ontario’s economy,” said Glen Murray, Minister, Ontario Research & Innovation. Ontario boosts the third largest biotech cluster in the world.

Listen to Glen Murray’s remarks during the press conference: Murray's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

The new collaboration was in part made possible from several industry partners including Novozymes. “As a collaborative partner, Novozymes’ goal is to enable and facilitate the realization of cellulosic ethanol production at commercial scale, as quickly as possible; and in our opinion, this technology is leading the way to accomplishing that objective,” said Cynthia Bryant, Global Business Development for Novozymes.

Listen to Cynthia Bryant’s remarks during the press conference: Bryant's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

Bertil Stromberg, VP, BioFuels for Andritz added, “Andritz is excited to be partnering on this initiative, and to contribute its expertise in process equipment technology for the commercial scale up of the process.”

Listen to Bertil Stromberg’s remarks during the press conference: Stromberg's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

Check back for audio from the announcement and click here to see photos from the 2011 BIO World Congress.

The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, hosted by BIO, is set to begin on Sunday, May 8, 2011 in Toronto. A record crowd is expected and the exhibitor hall is sold out. I’ll be on site to bring you breaking news and information about the latest biotechnology trends as they relate to biofuels and biochemicals. To get a preview of the conference, I spoke with Brent Erickson, executive vice president with BIO.

Erickson said that this conference is really dynamic on multiple levels. There are a series of plenary sessions as well as breakout sessions and workshops covering the gamut from advanced biofuels technology to algae and feedstock crops, as well as aviation fuels, renewable chemical platforms, and bi-based materials. Several events of special interest include the announcement of the George Washington Carver award and Greenfield Ethanol will be making an announcement about its cellulosic technology.

Listen to or download my interview with BIO’s Brent Erickson: BIO World Congress Preview

Two weeks ago, BIO released a white paper on policy and investments needed for the biotech industry. Erickson said these issues would be key during the World Congress. Government policy in the U.S. as well as Canada and globally will be entwined through many sessions. In addition, there will be a focus on the flow of venture capital and investment money into this space as Erickson said for many companies this is an important issue. He also said it is very heartening in this investment climate to see IPOs take place. The next IPO to take place is Solazyme.

I asked Erickson what companies or technologies he think will breakthrough over the next 6-18 months and he said what we’ll see are platforms breakthrough. He believes the biobutanol platform will take off as well as the succinic acid platform.

Be sure to follow conference conference right here beginning on Monday.

The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference is underway in Washington, D.C. and more than 400 senior level executives are in attendance to learn more about the trends in the advanced biofuels industry. During the Conference, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released a new policy white paper that determined the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) provides both stable market support and a pricing system (through Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs) that are necessary to attract private investment in the advanced biofuels industry. The paper is also being published this month in the journal, Industrial Biotechnology.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard, as it has been implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency, can provide the long-term, stable, market-based government policy mechanism that advanced biofuel producers and investors have been looking for. It provides both and assured market and a significant degree of price certainty for cellulosic and advanced biofuels, which can significantly mitigate the capital risk associated with commercialization of new technologies,” said Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section.

Erickson notes that the RFS is very effective for incentivizing biofuels innovation. He said that with this policy, companies have already made significant investments in research and development. He continued by highlighting the amount of good jobs and positive economic opportunities that the industry provides and then went on to stress that federal support must continue in order for the industry to realize commercial scale production levels. Today, many of these investments are seeing fruition in that several companies in the industry are beginning to make major commercialization announcements.

“Access to capital remains the biggest challenge for the industry, especially as high oil prices threaten to plunge the country into another recession. The RFS must work in coordination with other federal programs administered by the USDA and DOE to provide the industry, its investors and obligated parties needed stability and forward-looking guidance. This paper should reassure capital markets that advanced biofuels represent a sound opportunity. And coupled with the recent USDA loan guarantees and DOE grants the advanced biofuels sector should experience a surge in 2011 and beyond,” concluded Erickson.

You can view photos from the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in my Flickr photo album.

President Obama is sticking to his guns in his support of biofuels, among other energy sources, as viable ways for America to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil. This morning, his administration released its plan for a comprehensive energy policy their report, “Blueprint For A Secure Energy Future.”

As a result of the report, the biofuel and biotech industries came out in support of the president’s commitment to biofuels.

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood thanked President Obama and his administration for its leadership in supporting the commercial development of biorefineries.

“Continued reliance on foreign petroleum threatens not only our economy, but also our energy and national security,” said Greenwood. “Next generation biorefineries utilizing renewable biomass to produce advanced biofuels, biobased products and renewable chemicals offer the potential to help stabilize energy prices and revitalize U.S. rural and manufacturing communities. The policies announced today by President Obama will provide important support to path-breaking biotechnology companies seeking to build commercial-scale cellulosic and advanced biorefineries.”

BIO’s Executive Vice President, Brent Erickson, added that to continue the momentum in the commercialization of biofuels, Congress and the country’s energy policy must enable federal agencies to serve as leaders in creating an open marketplace for biofuels to compete.

Also responding to the report was Brooke Coleman, the executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. Coleman reiterated that the biofuels industry is ready and waiting to assist the country in meeting its domestic energy needs and also called upon the administration to work with the industry to create a “responsible transition and transformation of current biofuel tax policy and investments in ethanol vehicle technology and fueling infrastructure.”

Coleman concluded, “Challenging capital markets, economic uncertainty, and uncertain federal policy have worked to slow the commercialization of promising advanced ethanol technologies. By committing to policies that accelerate the commercial production of ethanol from a wide range feedstocks, the nation can gain more control over its energy future. Ethanol production from wood wastes, grasses, municipal solid waste, and other non-traditional feedstocks will go a long way to making America truly independent of a need to import oil.”

RAND National Defense Research Institute has released a study today amidst a firestorm of criticism with many claiming that the report sounds like an advertisement for the coal industry. The study, commissioned by the Department of Defense, was to conduct an examination of alternative fuels for military applications. For the past several years, the military has been testing alternative fuels, including biodiesel and algal fuels, in aviation and marine applications and has set clear goals to use alternative fuels by 2016 and beyond.

The report concludes that in the short term, “considering economics, technical readiness, greenhouse gas emissions, and general environmental concerns, FT fuels derived from a mixture of coal and biomass represent the most promising approach to producing amounts of alternative fuels that can meet military, as well as appreciable levels of civilian, needs by 2030.”

The report continues by saying, “It is highly uncertain whether appreciable amounts of hydrotreated renewable oils (biodiesel) can be affordably and cleanly produced within the United States or abroad.” The report questions whether renewable fuels can ramp up to commercial scale, be economically competitive and it questions their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All of these issues rule biodiesel and algae out, where too much money and resources are being spent, according to the report, as being a viable candidate to meet the military need’s over the next decade.

If these findings weren’t enough to stir up the hornet’s nest, the report also called for Congress to reconsider the military’s budget for alternative fuel-projects. This is a sure-fire way to invoke debate in Washington, especially as a Republican Congress searches for ways to cut the federal budget.

In a New York Times article, the report elicited quick criticism. “Unfortunately, we were not engaged by the authors of this report,” said Thomas W. Hicks, deputy assistant secretary of energy for the Navy. “We don’t believe they adequately engaged the market,” he said, adding, “This is not up to RAND’s standards.”
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Earlier this week, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced H.R. 6554, “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act of 2010.” Now, he has introduced “Oil Independence for a Stronger America Act of 2010″ along with Mike Castle (R-Del.). This proposed legislation would create or extend a diverse array of federal programs necessary to help advanced biofuel producers secure financing for construction of first-of-a-kind projects.

Rep. Inslee stated, “This legislation creates a path forward to achieve energy independence and invigorate American industries. The legislation will help redirect the billions that we send overseas to pay for our addiction to foreign oil and instead invest those dollars into homegrown biofuels and America’s transportation sector.”

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) Industrial & Environmental Section, stated, “The United States needs to produce large volumes of advanced biofuels to reduce reliance on foreign oil, enhance both our energy and national security, and jump start economic growth. More than 65 planned and operating projects in 30 states are looking to build an advanced biofuels and biobased products industry. But, even with the rapid pace of technology development and the demonstrated commitment of Congress and the Obama administration, federal policies to date have fallen short in helping the industry to secure needed capital investment in biorefineries and infrastructure.”

Erickson stressed that federal policies can provide potential investors the type of certainty they need to make a long-term investments in new cellulosic and algae-based advanced biofuel facilities and asked for the enactment of an investment tax credit similar to those given to other nascent industries.

The “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act” has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced the bill which would authorize the Department of Defense to continue its leading role in helping to commercialize next generation biofuels by extending the multi-year contracting authority for advanced biofuels from 5 years to 15 years. In his speech introducing the legislation, Inslee quote Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recently commented that the Defense Department uses 300,000 barrels of oil every day. “”The energy use per soldier creeps up every year. And our number-one import into Afghanistan is fossil fuel.” Admiral Mullen understands how critical an energy supply is to a combat troop; but how safe are our troops if this oil comes from overseas? Our defense sector should adopt more sustainable fuels, which can be produced here in the United States; for the security of our troops.”

Brent Erickson with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) says the bill would help scale up advanced biofuel production in the United States. “Expanding the military’s ability to engage in long-term contracts could provide leading companies and potential investors the certainty they look for before committing capital to large-scale biofuel production,” said Erickson. “The Department of Energy, for instance, has been asking for long-term off-take agreements as an eligibility requirement for its loan guarantee program.”

Erickson notes that the Department of the Navy recently established goals to cut petroleum use in the commercial fleet in half by 2015 and ensure 50 percent of its total energy consumption comes from alternative sources by 2020. “In order to reach the Navy’s goal, there needs to be a dramatic scaling up of advanced biofuel production in the United States. Investment in environmentally responsible technologies lessens dependence on imported fossil fuels,” he said.

Military interests and biobased product value streams are seen as the biggest drivers for the biofuel industry in the coming year … that’s according to a new poll from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Biofuels Digest.

The poll looked at “11 Hot Trends for 2011” and was launched during the recent Advanced Biofuels Markets 2010 conference in San Francisco:

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “The biofuels industry is optimistic that the economy will recover this year, increasing opportunities for advanced biofuel producers to finance construction of new projects. Production of renewable chemicals and biobased products as additional value streams should make these projects attractive investments within the renewable sector. The industry also believes that Congress has a role to play, by crafting energy and tax policies that recognize production of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products as vital to the nation’s economic competitiveness as well as national and energy security.”
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