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.

ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals, has completed construction and begun operations of the core facility for its new integrated demonstration biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon.

The core facility will produce the intermediate chemicals acetic acid and ethyl acetate, which are high-value products for applications including paints, lacquers and solvents. ZeaChem will sell bio-based chemicals to commercial and industrial customers seeking renewable and cost-competitive alternatives to petroleum-sourced chemicals. The facility will employ 25 full-time operations staff.

ZeaChem is further developing its integrated biorefinery through implementation of a second project to add the capability of using cellulosic biomass on the front end and converting ethyl acetate into ethanol on the back end. This separate “bookends” project is currently underway and supported by a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Once operational in 2012, it will result in the production of up to 250,000 gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol.

“Beginning operations at the core facility is another indication that ZeaChem continues to successfully execute its strategic roadmap,” said Jim Imbler, president and chief executive officer of ZeaChem. “Our phased development approach minimizes risk by allowing us to produce marketable products as we scale up our biorefining operations. We will continue to build out our biorefinery platform to produce a broad portfolio of sustainable and economical chemicals and fuels derived from cellulosic biomass.”

In addition to this work, ZeaChem, headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., has been named, “This Week’s Colorado Company to Watch,” for the company’s work in growing their business of building bio-refineries that produce advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals.

The Department of Energy closed out August with the announcement of an additional $12 million to fund three small-scale projects in Illinois, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Announced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the technologies selected were chosen to help accelerate the development of advanced drop-in fuels and biochemicals.

Drop-in fuels have received much attention from both investors and the government because they can replace current fuels – either diesel or gasoline- without making any changes to the current transportation system.

“Producing advanced, drop-in biofuels in the U.S. will reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and support development of a new industry that will create jobs in rural communities across the country,” said Secretary Chu. “These investments aim to accelerate the discovery of innovative solutions that could drive down the cost of biofuels production and boost their availability in the marketplace.”

All three technologies use thermochemical processes designed to improve the economics and efficiency of converting biomass into fuels and other products. According to the DOE, this type of process uses heat and catalysts to convert the biomass in a controlled environment, into a liquid or gas. From there, they are then chemically transformed into fuels and other products.

The following projects were selected:

LanzaTech of Roselle, Illinois will receive up to $4 million to develop a cost-effective technology that converts biomass-derived ethanol into jet fuel using catalysts. It will also produce a valuable bio-product called butadiene that could be used to improve the overall economics of the fuel production process.

Research Triangle Institute of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina will receive up to $4 million to integrate two processes: a thermochemical process that produces a bio-crude intermediate from biomass, and a hydroprocessing technology that effectively and efficiently upgrades the bio-crude into gasoline and diesel.

Virent Energy Systems, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin will receive up to $4 million to convert biomass into oxygenated chemical intermediates using an innovative thermochemical technology and upgrade the intermediates to a hydrocarbon, which can then be refined and blended into gasoline and jet fuel, as well as high value chemicals.

The American Lung Association in Minnesota presented “The Clean, Green Minnesota Bean” over the weekend during the Minnesota State Fair. Randy Hilliard with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) gave a presentation to the fairgoers from the Sustainability Stage of the Eco Experience Building. The topic? Soybeans.

Hilliard discussed the market for plastics, fabrics, cleaners and other bio-based materials, all made from soybeans, which can be used in place of materials made from petroleum. Supporters of “The Clean, Green Minnesota Bean included the United Soybean Board, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition and the American Lung Association in Minnesota.

Using crops such as soybeans and corn to create products rather than using petroleum is not new. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, used soy plastics back in 1935 and every vehicle that rolled off the assembly line contained nearly 60 lbs, or one bushel of beans in the form of gearshift knobs, horn buttons, window frames, accelerator pedals, and more.

It may have taken multiple decades, but Detroit is once again looking to soy plastics. The AURI and Minnesota Soybean Growers Association recently held a conference in Mankota, Minnesota to discuss the potential of bio-based plastics to grow jobs in the state.

According to new research from Lux Research, investments in the alternative fuels sector have reached a four-year low of $930 million for alternative fuel start-ups in 2010. However, 2010 was also a record-breaking year for investments to companies with flexible technologies that can use a variety of feedstocks to produce a variety of products at $698 million. Lux says that if this trend continues, then start-ups with less flexible technologies will be forced out of the industry.

“Hedging Bets with Flexibility in Alternative Fuels,” has shown that since 2004 more than $6.4 billion in investments have been made in the alternative energy industry but in recent years, investors are giving more to less. The winners follow one simple principle: flexibility in feedstock or end product. Lux Research analyzed 333 investments in 170 unique start‐ups since 2004, breaking down investments by technology, fuel, geography, and investment stage.

“The recent successful IPOs of Amyris, Solazyme, and Gevo all reflect the larger industry trend of investing in more flexible end‐product technologies,” said Andrew Soare, a Lux Analyst and lead author of the report. “A handful of fuels‐focused start‐ups continue to draw investors, including waste‐to‐fuels companies Enerkem and LanzaTech, and cellulosic ethanol companies Qteros and Mascoma. But flexibility is part of their DNA as well, in that they derive fuels from multiple feedstocks.”

Several key conclusions include:

• Synthetic biology’s inherent flexibility is a wise investment, but not the only one. Synthetic biology has attracted the most funding since 2004: $1.84 billion or 28.4% of the total. But investors shouldn’t ignore other flexible technologies.

• Investments will favor fewer companies in later stage funding. Most alternative fuel technologies today are past the point of initial seed funding, and are seeking capital to scale up manufacturing. Those closest to scale will continue to raise large Series C and Series D rounds, while less advanced companies will struggle to land moderate earlier rounds, resulting in more failed start‐ups over the next few years.

• Expect new corporate investors to enter the space. Expect forward‐looking corporations to bring additional industries into the fray, such as pulp and paper, food and beverage, and non‐obvious downstream brand owners such as UPS.

Amyris is now partnering with Kuraray Co. to develop innovative polymers from Biofene, a renewable hydrocarbon building block that is produced from their technology. As part of the partnership, Kuraray will use Biofene to replace petroleum-derived feedstock such as butadiene and isoprene in the production of certain polymers. Upon the success of the product, the two companies will then enter into a supply agreement for Kuraray’s exclusive use of Biofene in these polymer products.

“We are very excited to partner with Amyris, a leading renewable products company, to develop innovative polymer products with Biofene,” said Yasuhiro Yamamoto, director and senior executive officer of Kuraray. “We are confident the new Biofene polymer products will become important additions to our product portfolio and be an integral part of our growth strategy.”

Amyris CEO John Melo added, “We are committed to bringing innovative, high-performing and sustainable products to the polymers market. Partnering with an industry leader like Kuraray allows us to expand the use of Biofene to produce high-performance polymers as well as strengthen our timely and successful route to market.”

A new catalyst for biomass production has been developed by researchers from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington State University (WSU). These catalysts could turn ethanol into other products by converting it into a chemical called isobutene. This feat can be accomplished in one step, and the process can use water-diluted ethanol rather than purifying it first, saving time and money. The results of the research were published in the July 21, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“Isobutene is a versatile chemical that could expand the applications for sustainably produced bio-ethanol,” said chemical engineer Yong Wang, who leads research at both PNNL in Richland, Washington and at WSU in Pullman.

The catalyst plays an important role to unlocking renewables to replace fossil fuel in products. For example, the catalytic converter in a car speeds up chemical reactions that break down polluting gases, cleaning up a vehicle’s exhaust. In the process of trying to improve on current catalysts, the team was actually trying to make hydrogen but discovered a significant amount of isobutene, which is better.

Isobutene can be used to make rubber or in cleaning products. In addition, it can be easily converted into jet fuel or octane boosting additives.

The researchers said no one had ever seen a catalyst create isobutene from ethanol in a one-step chemical reaction before, and realized such a catalyst could be important in reducing the cost of biofuels and renewable chemicals. When using a 1:10 ratio of zinc and zirconium, the mixed oxide catalyst could turn more than 83 percent of the ethanol into isobutene.

The research is just beginning and future study will look into optimization to further improve the yield and catalyst life. Wang and his colleagues are also curious to know if they can combine the isobutene catalyst with others to produce different chemicals in one-pot reactions.

Biofuels Digest’s debut of “The 30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals and Materials” saw the top spot go to Genomatica. This honor, however, is not the first for the company. They also received the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for its strategy and progress in producing industrial biochemicals. The “biochemical” market is a multi-billion dollar industry and they offer better economics and a smaller ecological footprint than traditional chemicals.

“The momentum in the renewable chemicals and materials space inspired us to run the first ‘hottest’ companies competition in Biofuels Digest history,” said Biofuels Digest founder and editor Jim Lane. “The Biofuels Digest community recognized the slew of meaningful technology, production and commercialization milestones Genomatica has achieved over the past year, and the solid leadership they provide for the industry.”

So what was it about Genomatica that helped them rise to the top spot? In 2011, they had already reached demonstration-scale production in partnership with Tate & Lyle. In addition, the company has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding for sustainable chemicals in Asia with Mitsubishi Chemical. As if that isn’t enough, they have also established a partnership with Gruppo M&G for biomass-to-chemicals in Europe and signed a joint development agreement with Waste Management to convert syngas to high-value chemicals.

“The readers and panelists of Biofuels Digest represent the forefront of our industry, so we are gratified by their recognition,” said Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling. “The hard work, passion and perseverance of every employee and partner got us to this place, so it’s nice to take a moment and feel good about what we have accomplished so far this year.”

Synterra Energy has taken a step forward in bringing advanced biofuels to commercial scale with the merger of Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals and Red Lion Bio-Energy. Synterra will now own key intellectual property and assets designed for waste biomass conversion. This announcement signals the company’s move to commercial scale production of renewable fuels, chemicals and power from waste biomass from in integrated biorefinery.

“The Red Lion thermochemical conversion system and the Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals catalytic synthesis process are industry leading technologies in their own right,” said Robert Schuetzle, CEO of Synterra Energy, Inc. “The integration of our two technologies creates a seamless proprietary biomass conversion system under a single commercial provider. The resultant innovative process integration is a design that provides process efficiencies, lowers unit capital cost, reduces the risk of securing adequate feedstock supplies, and mitigates technology risk of mixing and matching multiple platforms from separate process vendors.”

Synterra was awarded a $25 million DOE grant back in 2009 to demonstrate the commercial readiness of its integrated biorefinery technologies (IBR). Shortly thereafter, the 30-barrel per day demonstration project was initiated as the third scale up of its technologies. The company says it is able to produce biofuels, bioenergy and biochemicals with less impact on the environment and higher energy efficiencies as compared to other technologies. For example, the company says its synthetic diesel is a high-quality, zero-sulfur drop-in renewable fuel that has 89 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum derived diesel fuel.

“Synterra Energy and its legacy organizations, Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals and Red Lion Bio-Energy, have recruited top technical and business veterans from the alternative energy, petrochemical, multi modal transportation and logistics, catalyst, and environmental industries with extensive experience in research, development, demonstration and commercialization of new technologies,” added Alex Johnson, the company’s Chairman. “With this talented team of professionals, Synterra’s integrated approach to process design and experience in modularization of distributed plants, we have a compelling formula for further commercial success.”

Gevo has inked a deal with Arabian American Development Co. to build a hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant at its South Hampton Resources, Inc. subsidiary located in Silsbee, Texas. Arabian will also provide toll-processing services that will result in the processing of up to 10,000 gallons of isobutanol per month into a variety of renewable hydrocarbon biomaterials including jet fuel, isooctane for gasoline, isooctene and paraxylene for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Toll processing, or toll manufacturing is when a company (Arabian) with specialized equipment manufacturers a product on behalf of another company (Gevo).

According to Gevo, this strategy will allow them to supply early adopters with product in order for them to test the materials, make sample products and begin sales. The contract is for two years and the demonstration plant should be complete by the end of this year.

“This contract is the successful culmination of one of several toll-processing opportunities on which we have been working. Gevo is developing exciting new technology and we’re pleased to be part of this value chain,” said Nick Carter, President and CEO of South Hampton Resources. “We believe this is a sustainable partnership as Gevo expects to demonstrate the viability of renewable hydrocarbons in a variety of market applications. That would pave the way for a larger market development plant, which, in turn, expands opportunities and should drive additional demand for our toll-processing services.”

Carter added, “In addition, the new processing facility will continue to expand our capabilities into the renewable energy market. Our largest contributor to date in this field is our C5 product that is being utilized as the working fluid in closed loop geothermal generators with a top US geothermal company.”

The Department of Energy has awarded $9 million dollars to LS9 and its partner HCL Cleantech to improve and demonstrate an integrated process to convert biomass feedstocks into fermentable sugars and then into diesel and other biofuel and biochemical products. As part of the DOE grant, the two companies are combining their proprietary technologies to produce drop-in advanced biofuels and other valuable bio-based chemicals mainly from wood waste and other agriculture waste.

“We are very pleased with this award and look forward to working with our grant partner, HCL Cleantech, to deliver a successful integrated project,” said Ed Dineen, LS9 President and CEO. “Demonstrating compatibility and integration of LS9′s broad technology platform with next generation biomass based sugar technologies is a key strategic objective for the Company.”

Codexis has confirmed plans to scale-up the commercial manufacturing of its proprietary cellulase enzymes. These enzymes are manufactured to convert lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars, and ultimately bioproducts including biofuels, biochemicals, and bio-based performance ingredients in household products such as laundry detergents and shampoos. The enzymes will be produced at the Fermic S.A. de C.V. facility located in Mexico City, Mexico.

Prior to this commercial launch, they produced the enzymes at 20,000 liter scale. This achievement represented the first time an enzyme product was manufactured and using their Codexis CodeXporter enzyme expression system. In addition, the cellulase enzymes were created using the Codexis CodeEvolver direct evolution technology and plans to use this product to support biofuel projects and their market expansion into biochemicals.

“High-performance cellulase enzymes will soon be in high demand for cost-effective production of renewable products from biomass,” said Alan Shaw, Ph.D., President and CEO “This is both an important commercial milestone for Codexis and a significant development for customers, who are responding to market demand for sustainable products.”

LS9 has been making news with the announcement that they will collaborate with MAN Latin America to test their renewable diesel in both stationary engines and operational fleet vehicles in Brazil. The testing will cover performance, emissions, fuel consumption, and engine durability testing, as well as field testing of the company’s biofuel in Volkswagen trucks and buses.

“Our collaboration with MAN Latin America reinforces our commitment to producing cost-effective, high-quality biofuels and making renewable, sustainable biodiesel made from sugarcane and other renewable sugars widely available to global consumers,” said Ed Dineen, CEO of LS9. “Through this alliance, we intend to further demonstrate the high quality of our drop-in biofuels for the Brazil market, and to move closer to the commercialization of LS9 UltraClean Diesel.”

According to LS9 their UltraClean Diesel has been custom engineered to meet or exceed relevant diesel fuel standards while providing compelling economic and environmental benefits relative to petroleum diesel. The company also says their current fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) product has achieved the key parameters of B100 (100 percent biodiesel) – ASTM 6751 (United States), EN 14214 (European Union), and ANP 7 (Brazil) standards. LS9 believes its biodiesel overcomes several challenges inherent in first-generation biodiesel including a higher cost of production, poor oxidative stability and/or poor cold flow.

In other LS9 news, Bloomberg has reported the company is considering building Brazil’s largest biofuel and specialty chemical plant. While plans have not yet been finalized, current plans include a plant that could produce up to 200 million gallons of biodiesel and chemicals per year. This size plant would be two-thirds bigger than the country’s next largest facility.

“Brazil is going to be a focal point for us,” said Dineen in the Bloomberg article. “We envisage multiple production units there.”

He stressed that since the plans are not complete, the final plant could be smaller and the decision will be made based on feedstock availability and offtake interest. In addition, they are considering building a 75 million gallon per year plant that only produces biochemicals.

The country’s first zero-waste biochemical refinery is now up and running in Missoula, Montana. The facility is owned and operated by Blue Marble Biomaterials and uses a combination of clean technologies to produce specialty biochemicals that can be used in the food, cosmetics and personal care markets. Each year the biorefinery will produce 72 tons of biochemicals, and its only “waste” is purified water and pellet fuel for wood boilers.

“This biorefinery is an excellent example of how the U.S. can ensure global leadership in advanced manufacturing: we have developed cutting edge technology which combine the fields of biology, chemistry, and industrial manufacturing to produce petroleum replacing chemicals,” said Blue Marble CEO Kelly Ogilvie. “These products will reinvigorate the meaning of Made in America: more lean, more clean and sourced from our abundant renewable natural resources.”

Last week, President Obama announced intentions to invest $500 million in U.S.-based advanced manufacturing technologies via an Advanced Manufacturing Program. The Blue Marble co-founders, Ogilvie and James Stephens, served on the council that worked with the president in forming the program.

The system uses a range of plant feedstocks to produce the biochemicals. The facility uses a photo-bioreactor containing algae to purify wastewater and waste gas from the fermentation system. In addition, the solid waste generated during the production process is pelletized for use in wood-burning furnaces and stoves. In the future, the company intends to power its facility with the waste gas and pellets created during the process in onsite gasifiers.

“Natural systems are the inspiration for our processes. Just as in nature, we see waste as nutritional; in this case, wastewater, waste gas and waste solids are industrial nutrients for both our system and the surrounding economy,” added Stephens. “We believe this principal is key to reducing not only environmental impact but also operational cost.”

Amyris is on the move the week announcing today that the company is expanding into Asia via a collaboration with Wilmer International Limited. The partnership will focus on the development and worldwide commercialization of a family of surfactants derived from Amyris Biofene for use in a multitude of products including personal care and consumer packaged goods. Biofene will be designed as a replacement for nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants (NPEs), a $1 billion per year market. The chemical is becoming highly restricted due to global health and environmental concerns.

“This collaboration represents an important step in the additional geographic diversification of our renewable products business,” said Amyris CEO John Melo. “Wilmar is the leading agribusiness group in Asia. Its integrated business model, rapid growth mode and Asian presence and distribution footprint combined with our breakthrough technology will provide a powerful platform for capturing a portion of the large global surfactants market.”

In other Amyris partnership news, their partnership with Cosan S.A. is moving forward with the creation of a joint venture called Novvi S.A. This Brazilian-based company will develop, commercialize and produce renewable base oils, also using Amyris Biofene geared for the lubricants market. The execution of the Joint Venture Implementation this week is the last step before Novvi S.A. begins operations.

“The formation of Novvi provides another important channel for commercialization of Biofene, and we are pleased to have Cosan as our partner in this,” said Paulo Diniz, chief executive officer of Amyris Brasil. “We expect Novvi to introduce its first products starting next year.”

Nelson Gomes, head of Cosan Lubricants added, “We have completed the market studies and production capabilities assessment and are now ready to operate our joint venture with Amyris. The combination of Amyris’s Biofene infrastructure and technology platform with our feedstock capabilities and supply and distribution infrastructure creates the foundation for Novvi to become the leader in high-performance renewable synthetic base oils.”