Domestic Fuel

The Bush administration wasted no time this week in translating the president’s State of the Union energy words into actions.

“We will be proposing $1.6 billion in new funding for renewable energy, with a focus on cellulosic energy research and production as part of the administration’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals,” Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced Tuesday. “We’ve had great success with corn-based ethanol, now we have our sights set higher.”

The funding would support the president’s goal of reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next ten years and will compliment an array of renewable energy-related efforts underway at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“It remains a priority across USDA to support the development of biofuels. We will continue to build on current programs and turn the corner on renewable energy,” said Johanns. “With biofuels coming to the forefront, American agriculture faces the greatest opportunity of a generation to lead a future in which we get our energy by the bushel and not by the barrel.”

Farm Futures reports that venture capital firms more than doubled their investments in biofuels and other energy ventures in 2006, and even more is expected in 2007.

According to DowJones Venture One, firms put $224 million towards energy ventures in 2005 – and $536 million in 2006′s first three quarters alone. Another estimate, by venture-capital firm Nth Power, puts the amount invested in energy start-ups at a whopping $1.7 billion in 2006. Start-ups making biofuel from farm products took the biggest share, the firm says.

Biotech firms working on more efficient ways to produce biofuels also saw a big boost in 2006. For example, the Miami Herald reports that shares of Florida-based Dyadic International were up 205 percent in 2006.

This Jupiter company has a ton of buzz words going for it, including biotech, DNA sequencing and cheap alternatives to oil. It’s signed a contract with a Spanish energy giant, Abengoa, to build a plant that would convert plant waste into fuel in a much cheaper way than corn-based ethanol. The company, which has a research relationship with Scripps Florida, is also developing enzymes to lower production costs of paper, textiles and animal feed.

Two Canadian companies, SunOpta Inc. and GreenField Ethanol Inc. have signed a joint venture agreement to develop and implement commercial scale processes for the production of cellulosic ethanol from wood chips, including the planned establishment of one or more commercial scale plants employing the new process.

The first plant is planned to produce 10 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year, which would be the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant built and operational in the world using wood chips. Greenfield Ethanol and SunOpta are actively involved in selecting a site for the first plant in Ontario or Quebec.

Read more from SunOpta.

Mascoma Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. has received a $14.8 million award from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to build and operate a biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant in Rochester, New York.

The project will focus on demonstrating “cellulose to ethanol” technology and industrial processes. International Paper Co., Cornell University, Clarkson University and the Natural Resources Defense Council join Mascoma and Genencor as part of a consortium supporting the project.

The facility is expected to operate using a number of New York State agricultural and/or forest products as biomass, including paper sludge, wood chips, switch grass and corn stover.

Dyadic International, Inc. of Florida and Abengoa Bioenergy recently entered into a three-year research agreement to commercially develop a cost-effective enzyme production system for cellulosic ethanol.

Abengoa Bioenergy is considered to be the second largest ethanol producer in the world with production facilities located in Europe and the USA. Dyadic pioneered the stone-free method used to make “stone-washed” blue jeans with an enzyme isolated from a fungus which they are now redesigning to use in ethanol production.

Dyadic’s President and CEO Mark Emalfarb says “Abengoa Bioenergy is a visionary company and an important first partner for Dyadic for its biorefineries business. Additional partners will stand to benefit not only from access to Dyadic’s technologies specific to their area of interest but also from the core technology development program that is fundamental to efficient production of ethanol, other biofuels, polymers and other chemicals from biomass, thereby reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Read the release from Dyadic.

Listen to an interview with Dyadic officials about this technology from a previous post. Dyadic Interview (8:00 MP3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.7MB)

A University of Rhode Island plant geneticist has launched “Project Golden Switchgrass” to develop “the variety of enhanced switchgrass that everyone needs” as an alternative crop to produce ethanol.

According to a URI release, Albert Kausch is a world leader in developing transgenic grasses, having spent 20 years genetically modifying turf grasses, rice and corn. He is also an expert on “gene confinement” who is working to create a switchgrass that does not flower or reproduce, thereby ensuring that the genetically modified organisms do not escape into the environment and affect wild switchgrass.

Kausch is now genetically engineering switchgrass that is both sterile and resistant to herbicides, and he has a long list of other traits he hopes to improve as well, including drought tolerance, salt tolerance and cold tolerance. He expects to have test plots of the genetically modified plants on the URI campus within two years, and he hopes the first varieties will be in commercial production by 2011.

Converting wood chips and other forestry and agricultural biomass to ethanol is the goal of an agreement between a Connecticut energy company and a Massachusettes cellulosic technology firm.

According to a news release, Tamarack Energy, Inc. and Mascoma Corporation “will collaborate on the joint development of cellulosic ethanol facilities in New York, as well as follow-on opportunities in Pennsylvania and New England states, leveraging wood mills and other production facilities.”

Read more from C-NET.

Switch grass has gone from a relatively unknown prairie grass a year ago to the rising star of the ethanol industry since being featured in the President’s State of the Union address in January.

The Chicago Tribune reports on the growing interest in the grass for ethanol production.

Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world’s largest producer of ethanol made from corn, this month unveiled plans to ramp up research into switch grass as another source to make ethanol and other biofuels for cars, homes and industry. In Washington, the Democrats soon to take over as heads of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have put development of switch grass as a fuel source high on their priority list.

This is a “natural evolution of an industry that could be massive,” said Patricia Woertz, chief executive of Decatur, Ill.-based ADM.

Read more.

As cellulosic ethanol looms on the horizon with the goal of producing ethanol from biomass, the questions are how much biomass is there and how much will it cost to convert to ethanol?

Nathan Danielson of Biocognito addresses those questions in a recent Ethanol Technical Update for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). Danielson cites a Department of Energy report that characterizes those biomass sources that are capable of producing one billion tons per year.

This study indicates that the largest single source of biomass in the united states is forestlands. Forestlands in the 48 states can produce 368 million dry tons of biomass annually.

The study also finds that agricultural lands could contribute 194 million tons of dry biomass in the form of corn stover, wheat straw, manures and other residues. So, they figure that we can come up with a good 500 million tons of biomass a year.

How much will it cost to make the ethanol out of it? Assuming a production level of 60 million gallons of ethanol per ton of biomass, the DOE report concluded that even if the feedstock cost $50/ton, ethanol could still be produced at a competitive level of about 83 cents a gallon.

Danielson concludes:

Clearly there is a great deal of biomass available at a rate that is competitive to corn, however we need to determine the best way to convert it to ethanol. The big question now is what is the best technology to convert it? Will it be a fermentation route as DuPont and Broin, honda and Iogen are considering or will it be the syngas to ethanol route that abengoa is developing? The winning technologies have the potential to produce billions of gallons of ethanol per year and generate billions of revenue.

In its quest to make cellulosic ethanol an affordable reality in the near future, Broin Companies has formed a partnership with biotech industry leader Novazymes.

According to a press release, the partnership will “take the next steps needed to bring cost-effective ethanol derived from corn stover to market.”
The collaboration is an extension of the close partnership between the two companies and is a great opportunity for Novozymes to put its unique biotechnology platform at work and for Broin to aim at a fast commercialization.

Earlier this month, Broin announced a partnership with DuPont for the same purpose.

The US Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture each talked about the need for cellulosic ethanol in two different venues this week.

Energy Secretary Sam Bodman speaking at the Chicagoland Innovation Summit on Tuesday said ethanol is America’s best alternative energy source for the future, but researchers must develop a material other than corn to make it from. According to a Dow Jones report, “Eventually, we’re going to run out of the ability to make ethanol from corn,” Bodman told Dow Jones Newswires after the speech.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was in Minnesota meeting “with state and local leaders Tuesday to talk up the emerging technology of cellulosic ethanol production – making ethanol from wood chips, corn stalks, alfalfa and other biomass types,” according to this Associated Press report. Johanns also said corn-based ethanol can’t meet the nation’s demand.

“The World’s Largest Market Research Resource” is now offering a Cellulose Ethanol Market Report. According to Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets, “given its environmental and economic benefits, together with the vast availability of feedstock, ethanol has taken on prominence as one of the most favored alternatives to fossil fuel.”

The Market for Cellulose Ethanol report is an in-depth analysis of the prospects for the use of cellulose ethanol as a fuel. The report includes a comprehensive analysis of how cellulose ethanol is produced, its cost-effectiveness, the growth drivers promoting the use of ethanol over other fuels, the barriers to market, and much more. The report also focuses on the steps the U.S. government is taking to promote ethanol use, including tax incentives, funding for research and development, funding for technology, and other measures. The report also covers the basics of ethanol production; how ethanol differs from other fuels and the benefits to consumers from using ethanol.

Two technology leaders in the growing biofuels industry, DuPont and Broin, have announced a partnership in the United States to take the next steps needed to bring cost-effective ethanol derived from corn stover to market.

According to a press release, “We are pleased to partner with Broin, a company that is regarded as a technology expert in biorefining,” said DuPont Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Tom Connelly. “We have worked over the last three years to develop a technology package that can efficiently break down the complex sugar matrix found in corn stover into ethanol from cellulose at a high yield. We are excited about the progress we have made and, while we still have to complete more research, we are ready to take the next steps to bring cellulosic ethanol to market. This is a further demonstration of DuPont’s commitment to bring to market renewably sourced materials that reduce global reliance on petroleum.”

“The partnership between Broin and DuPont brings together much of the needed technology that is important to the future development of cellulose to ethanol,” said Mike Muston, executive vice president of corporate development, Broin. “The ability to combine the global science of DuPont with Broin’s ethanol production technology puts us in position to make the commercialization of cellulose to ethanol a reality much sooner.”

Broin Companies has hired Dr. Mark Stowers as the Vice President of Research and Development. Stowers will join Broin Companies from MBI International in Lansing, Mich., where he has served as the President and CEO since 2001. MBI International is a leading firm focused on the development, scale-up, and commercialization of products from biotechnology.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Mark’s background and expertise to head our research and development division,” Jeff Broin, President and CEO of Broin Companies said. “MBI International is an industry leader in technology advancement and Mark is known around the world for his work with biorefining processes and cellulose to ethanol conversion. He will continue to maintain our position at Broin as a leader in research and development while taking us to new heights in this fast-paced changing industry.”

Chevron Corporation and the University of California, Davis have “formed a strategic research collaboration to pursue advanced technology aimed at converting cellulosic biomass into transportation fuels.”

According to a press release, the joint research effort will coordinate with the California Biomass Collaborative to focus on renewable feedstocks available in California, including agricultural waste such as rice straw.

The objective of the Chevron-UC Davis research is to develop commercially viable processes for the production of transportation fuels from renewable resources such as new energy crops, forest and agricultural residues, and municipal solid waste. The collaboration calls for research in biochemical and thermochemical conversion, as well as a demonstration facility to test the commercial readiness of these technologies.