Domestic Fuel

The Department Of Energy (DOE) is getting closer to shelling out some cash as part of its role in the new Biofuels Interagency Working Group. It has been tasked with not only creating a comprehensive biofuels market development plan but also to help struggling biofuels plants get back in the black as well as fund start-up advanced biofuels companies to help bring the technology to market faster.

Today, Verenium announced that their jointly owned commercial cellulosic ethanol project with BP, located in Highland County, Florida has been selected by the DOE to enter the due diligence phase of its XVII Loan Guarantee Program. Under this program, the DOE may provide loan guarantees for project debt covering up to 80 percent of eligible costs. The Highlands project is scheduled to break ground in 2010.

“We are thrilled to move forward into this next phase with the DOE,” said Carlos A. Riva, president and CEO of Verenium. “We believe this signals an important endorsement of our cellulosic process technology and a strong show of support for the advancement of next-generation biofuels.”

The latest national biofuels research facility opened this week in at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

The main focus of the new $6 million, 11,000-square-foot Cornell Biofuels Research Laboratory will be on cellulosic ethanol.

“The Biofuels Research Laboratory catapults Cornell to the forefront of renewable energy research and becomes the centerpiece of the university’s broad portfolio of work on cellulosic biofuel and bioproducts,” said Cornell’s Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences Susan Lynch during a ribbon cutting ceremony. “Many stand to benefit from the work of the Biofuels Research Laboratory, which holds great promise for transforming our economy and alleviating our nation’s energy crisis,” Henry said. “New York farmers will see new opportunities to grow the plant material used as inputs, workers will see job growth in the bioenergy sector, and we all gain from a more sustainable energy supply.”

Henry is pictured here in a Cornell University photo with professor and principal investigator Larry Walker, New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Cornell President David Skorton.

Everything. According to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA). The rationale? Brazil’s highly successful, 30-year experience with sugarcane as a feedstock for ethanol. The country’s ethanol program has been in place since the mid-70s. In this time frame, ethanol has saved nearly 600 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. How much is that? It would take 20 years and six billion trees to have the same results.

Unlike any other country, Brazil’s use of ethanol makes gasoline the alternative fuel. In 2003, flex-fuel cars (FFV) were introduced and today 34 percent of the light vehicle fleet are FFVs and close to 90 percent of new light vehicles purchased are FFVs. In addition, 46 percent of the country’s energy is provided by renewable sources. In addition, all of Brazil’s nearly 400 sugar and ethanol mills are self-sufficient in electricity, and a growing number of mills are generating a surplus by using cane straw and bagasse,

According to the UNICA’s senior international affairs adviser Geraldine Kutas, “Brazil could be a low-carbon economy. Unfortunately, even though the country is a large renewable energy producer, it is also the fourth largest emitter of carbon, because of deforestation. The fight against climate change requires ambitious public policies and joint leadership from the government and the public sector.”

This is just one success story that will be highlighted during Green Week, June 23-26 in Brussels, the largest annual conference to focus on the European Union’s environmental policies. UNICA will participate in both a panel discussion, “Climate Change: What can be asked of emerging economies?” on June 24 as well as have a booth set up in the exhibit area.

For more information about other speakers, topics and events during Green Week, visit www.greenweek2009.alligence.com.

During a visit to Des Moines Monday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu gave some hope to ethanol supporters hoping that the federal government will approve a waiver that would allow up to 15 percent ethanol blends for standard vehicles.

“I don’t want to prejudge what they’re going to find, but if the existing automobile fleet can handle 15 percent, I would say let’s make that a target and go to 15 percent,” Chu said. “This is very important for decreasing our oil independence.”

Chu was in Des Moines Monday to announce more than $16 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Iowa during a news conference with Governor Chet Culver.

“Energy independence is more than simply an Iowa initiative, it’s something of national importance,” said Culver. “We are well on our way to making Iowa the renewable energy capitol of the United States and the Silicon Valley of the Midwest.”

Secretary Chu also suggested that car manufacturers ought to make all new automobiles able to run on E85 ethanol-blended fuel. “I’ve been told it costs about $100 in gaskets and fuel lines to turn a car so that it can go all the way to E85,” Chu said. “But a new car , it would only cost $100 out of $15,000. Wouldn’t it be nice to put in those fuel lines and gaskets so that we can use any ratio we wanted. It’s just a thought, I don’t think you’re going to get any objections in this audience.” He said that requiring companies to make all vehicles flex-fuel is “beginning to be discussed” but first “we’ll see about whether the current fleet can take 15 percent or 13 percent ethanol.”

Chu spoke optimistically about making cellulosic ethanol commercially viable in the near future and said the agency is doing all it can to make that happen. “Department of Energy is funding three biofuels research institutes,” he said. Once it becomes a reality, Chu says agriculture could provide about half the transportation fuel needed for the nation. “The United States has incredible potential so we want to push this as hard as possible.”

However, Chu avoided direct comment about how EPA may choose to determine indirect land use changes that could be detrimental to biofuels when asked by a reporter about concerns that it could impact the future of corn ethanol. “It’s out for peer review and we’ll see how it plays out,” he said.

Listen to audio of Chu’s answers to some of the questions posed.

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Two biofuels promoters took part in the 4th annual New Holland/Michael Peterson Celebrity Tractor Race held Sunday at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. Chuck Leavell (left) is probably best known as the versatile keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and Joe Jobe is CEO of the National Biodiesel Board.

Jobe noted that New Holland Boomer being used for the race was fueled with biodiesel and he was proud to be part of the event once again this year. “Not only does New Holland support and approve the use of biodiesel in their vehicles, but they also promote the use of biodiesel nationwide,” said Jobe. Leavell not only supports biodiesel but ethanol as well since he’s a Georgia tree farmer and very interested in cellulosic ethanol production. “There’s a lot of experiments going on with several companies trying to make liquid fuels out of wood chips, cellulosic material and as time goes on it will get easier and easier,” said Leavell.

Here’s a video of Joe Jobe racing in the biodiesel-fueled New Holland Boomer:

See photos from the event here in the 2009 CMA Music Festival Photo Album

Listen to or download Chuck Zimmerman’s interview with Joe Jobe and Chuck Leavell here:

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Plans were announced this week for a cellulosic ethanol demonstration and research plant to be built in Florida that will produce both fuel and other products from the refining process.

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Buckeye Technologies and Myriant Technologies (formed by BioEnergy International) are partners in the project that will explore ways to harness byproducts from some of the most promising cellulosic ethanol techniques to make environmentally friendly versions of petroleum products.

The plant will be located at Buckeye’s facility in Perry, a small town near the armpit of the Florida peninsula, roughly halfway between Tallahassee and Gainesville. It will be built using a $20 million grant allocated by the Florida Legislature and groundbreaking is planned for this fall.

“We’re trying to break our dependence on petroleum. Fuel is a big part of that, but it’s not the only part,” said Lonnie Ingram, the UF distinguished professor of microbiology and cell science who led development of the technology. “Learning how to develop these valuable byproducts not only helps to make cellulosic ethanol more economically feasible, but it takes the environmental impact of cellulosic ethanol and extends it to new areas-like plastic water bottles that won’t take up space in a landfill for thousands of years.”

Feedstocks for the facility will include wood, sugarcane bagasse, and rice hulls. The plan is to use the genetically-modified bacteria developed by Dr. Ingram to convert the biomass into sugars, the first and most commercially challenging step in the production of cellulosic ethanol. The cellulosic by-products can then be used as feedstock for sustainable production of high-value chemicals.

POET CEO, Jeff Broin, announced a new division for the company this morning at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop. POET Biomass will be “a division of POET devoted to managing harvest and transportation logistics for corn cobs - POET’s cellulosic feedstock - as well as waste wood and other feedstocks to be used for cellulosic ethanol and alternative energy projects at their production facilities.”

In addition to the new division, Broin, says the company has installed an anaerobic digester at POET’s pilot cellulosic plant in Scotland, SD to create a “a self-sustaining energy cycle for producing cellulosic ethanol.”

Corn cobs at Project LIBERTY will not only be used to produce ethanol; the liquid waste will go to an anaerobic digester to power the cellulosic plant and offset natural gas usage at the attached grain ethanol plant as well. That’s renewable energy created at the plant, powering the plant and powering the adjacent facility.

2009 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

You can listen to the full press conference below:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Last year, the American Le Mans Series used both E10 and cellulosic E85 as a part of its fuel mix with the exception of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year, the gasoline based cars will be fueled with 10 percent cellulosic ethanol. This is the first time an advanced biofuel has been used in the gasoline at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The race will be held in France on June 13, 3009 and the cars will be fueled with Shell V-Power race fuel.

In addition, Shell is blending another advanced biofuel, BTL (Biomass to Liquid), into its Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel. A small amount of the biofuel is used in conjunction with the established, high-performance GTL (Gas to Liquid) component.

Daniel Poissenot, Sport Vice President from Automobile Club l’Ouest (ACO), the Le Mans governing body said, “The use of advanced biofuels in both Shell V-Power gasoline and diesel race fuels at Le Mans highlights the role of the racing series in demonstrating new technologies.”

The biofuel is produced at Iogen Energy Corporation’s demonstration plant in Ottawa, Canada where Iogen and Shell are parters. Earlier this week, Shell announced that its stations in Ottawa will be offering consumers a 10 percent cellulosic ethanol blend for the month of June. The fuel is produced from wheat straw.

“Shell is proud to be the offical fuel supplier for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We see motorsport as a technical test bed and we are excited about demonstrating Iogen cellulosic ethanol in our Shell V-Power gasoline race fuel this year,” concluded Richard Karlsetter, Shell Global Technology Manager, Racing Fuels.

Plans for a new cellulosic ethanol research and demonstration plant to be built by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are being revamped for a location closer to Gainesville.

IFAS officials announced that they have modified their agreement for the plant, which originally was slated to be built at a Florida Crystals site in Okeelanta, Fla. The new plans call for a smaller facility, which will better meet the $20 million budget allocated by the Florida Legislature. In addition, a location closer to UF will help draw upon the expertise of the university’s faculty and staff to expedite next-generation ethanol technology.

The plant will now focus on new parallel processes that produce cellulosic ethanol as well as organic acid co-products in the form of plastics. The plant will also experiment with a wider variety of feedstocks, including forest products, various types of sugarcane, sugar processing byproducts and many others.

Shell has become the first retailer to begin selling cellulosic ethanol in Ottawa, Ontario made from wheat straw. The E10 blend will be available for one month, beginning today, at all Shell stations across the city. The advanced biofuel is produced locally from non-food raw materials at Iogen Energy Corporation’s demonstration plant, using advanced conversion processes. Iogen and Shell are partners in the plant, which now produces 40,000 liters of fuel per month.

While all ethanol reduces carbon dioxide, cellulosic ethanol can reduce CO2 tailpipe emissions by up to 90 percent as compared to gasoline. Shell has been working for several years, in conjunction with Iogen, to develop and bring to market advanced biofuels.

“I am excited we are leading the pack in cellulosic ethanol production technology and, with this event, showing what is possible in the future,” said Dr. Graeme Sweeney, Shell Executive Vice President Future Fuels and CO2. “While it will be some time before general customers can buy this product at local service stations, we are working with governments to make large-scale production economic.”

Iogen’s CEO, Brian Foody noted that, “With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.”