Domestic Fuel

New Holland was all about American Ethanol at the 2012 Farm Progress Show this past week in Boone, Iowa.

“This year we’ve got a whole emphasis on a brand new partnership with American Ethanol,” said New Holland North America Vice President Abe Hughes about the equipment and signage at the show exhibit promoting ethanol and the NASCAR partnership. “We’re putting our name on the line saying that we’re 200% behind ethanol production.”

Hughes says they support ethanol because of the stability it’s brought to the American farmer. “It’s brought income stability to them and their families and it’s helped rejuvenate rural communities,” he said.

New Holland is also working on new ways to harvest corn stover for cellulosic ethanol production, with the introduction this year of the Cornrower combine attachment. “We’ve got the equipment to support the collection of stover in a clean way,” said Hughes. “You’ve got to handle it very carefully so you don’t get dirt in there and it leaves just the right amount of residue to avoid erosion.”

Listen to an interview with Hughes from FPS: Interview with Abe Hughes

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

The annual Farm Progress Show is heading back to Iowa this week and Boone, Iowa will be swarming with thousands of attendees checking out the latest and greatest in agricultural and energy technologies and products. One group who will be showcasing its work is the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), a state affiliate of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Organizational employees will be educating members about what they are doing to help Iowa corn growers just inside the gate at booth 26N.

ICGA will also be promoting the “Ethanol Rocks” video contest open to high school and college students. Those students who attend the Farm Progress Show along with their coordinators can enter to win a Sony Handycam and NCGA backpack filled with just the right loot to get them started on their film career.

“With school starting, NCGA is taking this opportunity to reach out to high school and college students, along with FFA and Ag Club coordinators to sign up for our “Ethanol Rocks” video contest,” said NCGA First Vice President Pam Johnson. “In addition to finding out more about this program, show attendees can stop by the Iowa Corn Growers Association booth, visit with corn growers and learn what NCGA and Iowa Corn are doing to promote our industry at the national and state levels.”

The short videos should be two minutes or less and should highlight the benefits of ethanol fuel blends to the U.S. environment and economy. The first place winner will pocket $1,500 and the second place winner to take home $500. There will be winner for two categories: high school and college students. Videos must be received by 5:00 pm CDT, Monday, October 15, 2012.

In addition to getting the low-down on 411 for the Ethanol Rocks video contest, Farm Progress attendees can also stop by the ICGA booth to sign a petition to keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in place. There is also an opportunity to win free registration to the 2013 Commodity Classic and visitors can walk away with educational materials on programs, topics and policies affecting the corn industry.

Each day during the show, at 2:00 pm, ICGA will host membership VIP educational sessions where speakers from the Iowa Corn Collegiate Advisory Team, CommonGround along with industry spokespersons will discuss how to involve the next generation in agriculture, discuss the economics of corn stover and learn about feed feasibility trials using corn stover.

The ZimmComm team will be posting live this week from the Farm Progress Show so don’t miss out on the one-of-a-kind coverage only Chuck and Cindy can bring.

Chemtex have received word from the USDA that they will receive $99 million to help build an advanced biofuels plant in the United States. The plant will be located in Sampson County, North Carolina and once operational, will produce 20 million gallons of biofuels a years from energy crops. Construction is slated to begin this year. Chemtex has selected Novozymes as its enzymes partner.

“Novozymes is excited to partner with Chemtex to convert energy crops into cellulosic ethanol in North Carolina. It is a great step forward for the U.S. biofuels industry and an endorsement of the technologies Chemtex and Novozymes have each developed. I am confident our collaboration will become a benchmark for the advanced biofuels industry in the U.S.,” said Peder Holk Nielsen, Executive Vice President, Novozymes.

The biorefinery is targeted to go online in 2014 and will employ around 65 employees. The feedstocks used will be grown locally on marginal land that is in part currently being used as “spray fields” for the hog farming industry.

Adam Monroe, President of Novozymes North America said, “Advanced biofuels are commercializing because the Renewable Fuel Standard is working. With public and private investment, we are adding to America’s mix of domestic energy, reducing prices for consumers and freeing us from our dependence on oil.”

Chemtex will use Beta Renewables’ PROESA technology to produce cost-competitive ethanol focusing on energy grasses and agricultural waste as the main source of feedstocks.
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POET Research has signed a technology collaboration joint development agreement for cellulosic ethanol with Agrivida, a developer of biotechnology platforms for feedstock and feedstock processing. As part of the four-year agreement, POET and Agrivida will develop Agrivida’s technology platforms as a means of reducing capital and operating costs of commercialized cellulosic ethanol biorefineries.

The first feedstock of focus will be corn stover, the key feedstock that POET has been focusing on to develop cellulosic ethanol at its plant under construction in Emmetsburg, Iowa known as Project Liberty. Agrivida is helping POET to develop traits engineered to improve the pretreatment of corn stover and make it easier to break down cellulose while reducing the cost of enzymatic application. These are key areas that need to be refined to help cellulosic ethanol reach price parity per gallon with other forms of first generation biofuels and traditional transportation fuels.

“POET is committed to working with new and innovative technologies that will improve the cost and value of cellulosic ethanol production,” said Dr. Wade Robey, POET Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “If successful, Agrivida’s novel approach to increase the functionality and value delivery of corn stover will work well with other technologies being developed by POET.”

POET will evaluate and test Agrivida’s proprietary, low-severity corn stover feedstock processing technology, which is targeted to provide significant capital and operating cost savings at commercial facilities.

Mark Wong, Agrivida CEO said, “We are excited to be working with POET to improve the economics of advanced biofuels production. POET has one of the most advanced commercial cellulosic programs in the world with strong research, development and commercial deployment capabilities. POET will be a great partner as Agrivida transitions its technology from research and development to a commercialization phase.”

There are many biorefining innovations taking place in the ethanol industry. During the 25th Annual Ethanol Conference, three company representatives discussed the research and technologies they were implementing or studying to increase the value of the ethanol production process.

Steve McNinch with Western Plains Energy said his company is looking at how to move into the advanced biofuels category of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). The biorenfinery, which produces ethanol from sorghum (milo), is currently installing technology to produce methane. His plant is also researching anaerobic digestion technologies that convert waste to energy. In addition, the plant is adding methane technology that will allow the plant to stop using natural gas as its electricity source and improve the ethanol’s carbon intensity score.

You can view Steve McNinch’s presentation here and also listen to his remarks: click here: Ethanol and AD Integration to
Produce Advanced Biofuel

There are several ways you can make your biorefinery more efficient whether you operate a corn ethanol plant or a milo ethanol plant.  Dough Rivers with ICM presented one way you can get from first generation corn to second generation cellulose while using the same biorefinery infrastructure. The first way to get from a dry grind plant is to start doing some things to recover more of your starch to convert more of your targeted end product. ICM has developed a Selective Milling Technology that bolts onto the current plant and increases both ethanol yield and corn oil yield. The company is also developing a fiber separation technology. From here you can start thinking about converting fiber to ethanol and collecting cellulosic RINs (Renewable Identification Number). Today ICM is testing its technologies in its pilot plant and expects to be offering the ethanol industry bolt-on cellulosic technologies soon.

You can view Doug River’s presentation here and also listen to his remarks: click here: ICM Pathway from Gen 1 Ethanol to Gen 2 Ethanol

Highwater Ethanol is one of the last ethanol facilities built in the U.S and the biorefinery is looking at moving into advanced biofuels via isobutanol (biobutanol). CEO Brian Kletscher discussed the current challenges and opportunities with isobutanol. Today ethanol plants have financial pressures, marketing challenges and a cap on first generation ethanol in the RFS2. The industry needs a solution and Highwater Ethanol believes isobutanol is one solution. That is why they signed on as an early adopter with Butamax. Isobutanol has several advantages over ethanol: attractive gasoline blending opportunities; it enables the refineries to increase the use of gasoline out of a barrel of oil up to three percent; it also has some advantages in its molecule. Now that Highwater Ethanol is on board with the technology, its next step is to pursue permitting and begin retrofitting in 2013.

You can view Brian Kletscher’s presentation here and also listen to his remarks: click here: Highwater Ethanol Review of Isobutanol

Cellulosic biofuel maker KiOR, Inc. has received Part 79 registration for its Renewable Diesel Blendstock 5 by the EPA. The registration, required by manufacturers of motor vehicle fuels by the EPA, must be completed prior to the sale of the product.

“Part 79 registration for our cellulosic diesel marks another important milestone for KiOR and the renewable fuels industry,” said Fred Cannon, KiOR’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The receipt of the Part 79 registrations for our cellulosic gasoline and diesel from EPA coincides perfectly with the start-up of our first production facility in Columbus, Mississippi next month.

“With registration for both our cellulosic gasoline and diesel completed, KiOR now has a clear path to market to provide renewable cellulosic fuels for American cars and trucks during the fourth quarter of this year,” Mr. Cannon added.”

KiOR’s proprietary two-step technology converts non-food biomass into cellulosic gasoline, diesel and fuel oil.

The first cellulosic plant using non-food waste materials in the country has received Parts 79 and 80 registration from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): INEOS New Planet BioEnergy (INPB).  The news came as the facility of the Indian River BioEnergy Center (Center) nears production. The biorefinery will use vegetative, yard waste and agricultural waste to produce cellulosic ethanol and is scheduled to be commissioned in the next few weeks.

When the Center is in full production, it will produce 8 million gallons of advanced bioethanol and 6 megawatts of renewable power.  INEOS Bio, the parent company of the project, has plans to run municipal solid waste at the Center after initial start-up is complete.

“We have completed this new facility on schedule and on budget and look forward to further advancing this bioenergy technology and making it commercially available around the world,” said Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio and Chairman of INPB. “Building more facilities and licensing this technology globally provides a new platform for waste disposal while providing energy security, local jobs and local bioenergy. “New technologies like this will also move us further away from, avoid, and eventually change the food-vs-fuel debate.”

Once the biorefinery is in production, it will be one of the first to produce cellulosic ethanol under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The facility will feature INEOS Bio’s feedstock flexible BioEnergy technology that uses a combination of gasification and fermentation technology to turn various types of waste materials into fuel and electricity.

U.S. Representative Bob Filner has introduced the “Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2012 (PTC)” that would allow Americans to invest billions of dollars to help develop clean energy technologies. The bill has good support: 10 co-sponsors, Green America and more than 40 other institutions have come out in support of the legislation.

The majority of the production tax credits for alternative energy and energy efficiency projects have either expired or are set to expire this year. The tax extender package has some two-year extensions for wind, biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol, but not for other energy sources. While it has passed through the Senate Finance Committee, it must still pass the Senate and pass through the House.

This bill would extend all renewable energy and energy efficiency projects up to a decade and also give Americans the ability to help “choose” the projects they would like to support.  Similar to the Victory Bonds from WWII, Clean Energy Victory Bonds could leverage billions of dollars of public and private finance for development.

“The importance of a clean energy future for America cannot be overstated,” said Alisa Gravitz, president of Green America. “Just like Victory Bonds helped to ensure the nation’s victories in World War II, so, too, can Clean Energy Victory Bonds allow Americans to invest in a future that benefits our country economically, politically, and environmentally.”

Should the bill pass, with as little as $25, Americans could buy Clean Energy Victory Bonds from the U.S. Treasury. Over time, the bonds would pay the owner a competitive rate of return.

The Senate Finance Committee has approved a bipartisan tax extenders package that includes aid for the alternative energy industry. The package includes the $1 per gallon biodiesel Blender’s Credit; an extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit; an extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for the development of offshore and community wind projects; and an extension of the producer tax credit for cellulosic biofuels. Passed 19-5, the bill now moves to the full Senate. From there, if passed, the package will head to the House.

Both the biodiesel industry and the wind industry recognized the leaders of the bill including Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT). In addition, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was a champion for reinstating the biodiesel tax credit.

Biodiesel producer Imperium Renewables is just one of dozens of biodiesel producers who will benefit from the measure should it become law. “This credit will enable us to increase production, and continue to support family wage jobs in Washington state,” said Imperium CEO John Plaza. “With the passage of the Tax Extenders Package out of the Senate Finance Committee, a strong message of bi-partisan support from the Senate leaders highlights the importance of a healthy, domestic biodiesel industry for the nation, and hopefully sets the tone for quick and successful passage in the Senate and the House.”

One of the strongest voices in Washington, DC regarding the reinstatement of the biodiesel tax credit was the National Biodiesel Board.  Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, said, ”This is a refreshing display of bipartisan cooperation to get this economy moving again. The biodiesel tax incentive is a proven job creator. Growth in our industry has been stagnant since the incentive expired on Dec. 31. Reinstating it will get biodiesel producers across the country back to expanding their businesses and hiring new employees, as they were doing last year with the tax incentive in place.”

Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council Brooke Coleman noted, ”Congress is right to take a hard look at all tax incentives for all energy industries, including fossil fuels. And we look forward to the day when we can restore parity to the tax code when it comes to energy development. But until that day comes, it is critical to maintain stability in the marketplace for emerging industries.”

The passage of the wind energy production tax is expected to save nearly 37,000 jobs in wind energy and drives up to $20 billion a year of private investment into U.S. wind farms according to the American Wind Energy Association. “We applaud the committee for this act of leadership to move critical policies forward in a difficult environment,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. “This was an extremely important step to provide critical certainty to keep people at work in wind energy manufacturing and construction.”

The next hurdle is the full Senate; fortunately there are strong wind energy supporters who are lobbying to see the wind energy tax credits extended: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Boozman (R-AR), Scott Brown (R-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Mark Udall (D-CO).

The bill is expected to go to the full Senate for deliberation as soon as tomorrow.

Sweetwater Energy has exceeded its goals for Series A funding raising $9 million, $4 million over its original goal. The New York-based company is developing a process to produce cellulosic sugar that can be used to produce biofuels, biochemicals and bioplastics. The company’s primary target is is refineries.

“As anyone trying to start a business today knows, the economic climate is very difficult for fundraising right now, but we received an incredible response,” says Keith Wilson, Sweetwater’s Chief Financial Officer. “This funding is already launching us into our next stage of development, which includes Sweetwater’s first commercial contracts and the design and fabrication of the first wave of facilities for 2013.”

The company raised $1.2 million in its first round on funding back in 2010 and also secured a grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. In addition, Sweetwater generated some revenue from the sale of cellulosic sugar to the Department of Defense to test for jet fuel production. Today the company is leveraging its work in its pilot scale facility to build a commercial scale facility.

Chesonis concluded, “Ultimately, it’s the economic and cost drivers for lower-cost petroleum substitutes that are fueling the remarkable demand for Sweetwater’s technology. We’re excited to raise this capital and move into the next stage of growth; commercial contracts to fulfill that remarkable demand.”

KiOR has been granted Part 79 registration by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its renewable gasoline blendstock 5, or cellulosic gasoline. This step is required before the sale of the fuel to be used in motor vehicles becomes legal.

“Part 79 registration is a landmark for KiOR and the renewable sector, as KiOR’s gasoline is the first renewable cellulosic gasoline that the EPA has registered for sale in the United States,” said Fred Cannon, KiOR’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With this registration, KiOR’s breakthrough cellulosic gasoline will be fueling cars of American consumers this year, providing a truly renewable fuel option that uses only sustainable non-food feedstock, reduces greenhouse gases, creates American jobs, and reduces our dependence on imported oil.”

The company’s first production facility is scheduled to begin production later this year in Columbus, Mississippi. Cannon says that the facility will provide 150 new jobs and produce enough fuel to meet the transportation needs to 20,000 area families.

Cannon added, “This facility demonstrates how the Renewable Fuels Standard and forward-thinking states like Mississippi can combine to make a positive impact on both domestic energy policy and local rural economies.”

A freshman Republican representative from Kansas today blasted higher ethanol blends during a House subcommittee hearing that focused on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“Why don’t I hear my constituents screaming for E15 and E85 if it’s such a good thing to lower consumer prices?” Congressman Mike Pompeo asked Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen during the hearing. “I’ve only been here 18 months, I’ll concede that, but I don’t hear it.”

Rep. Pompeo’s district of Wichita and surrounding areas encompasses Colwich, where ethanol plant engineering company ICM was founded in 1995 by industry pioneer Dave Vander Griend, who has been an active proponent of higher ethanol blends. It is also home to one of Abengoa Bioenergy’s ethanol plants, which is currently idled due to the market conditions. Abengoa has a total of six ethanol plants in the United States with two cellulosic ethanol facilities being developed, including one in Kansas.

Pompeo also ridiculed the cellulosic ethanol requirement in the RFS. Listen to his five minutes of questioning during the hearing here: Rep. Mike Pompeo

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is opposed to a bill introduced by Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) that they claim would weaken the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by requiring fuel companies to blend only the amount of cellulosic ethanol currently being produced into gasoline.

“Basically any weakening of the RFS is not a good thing for the country going forward. When you look at the ambitious goals that have been set to wean ourselves off foreign sources of oil and create a domestic biofuels industry, that’s a threat when you’re trying to undermine that,” said AFBF energy specialist Andrew Walmsley, noting that pulling back on the requirement will reduce the incentive for investment in advanced biofuels.

Walmsley says investment and increased production of cellulosic biofuels could open up new markets for farmers. “Those producers that may not grow corn and have had the opportunity to benefit from the growth of corn ethanol – the advanced biofuels and cellulosic ethanol is where they can break in. There’s crops that fit into southern rotation for southern growers between peanuts and cotton or you could look at perennials. There’s crops that grow year after year that you plant and have a dedicated source of income.”

Oil and construction giant KBR will provide engineering and procurement services for DuPont’s first cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa.

KBR will provide front-end engineering, detailed engineering and procurement services to DuPont’s Industrial Biosciences Group for this first-of-a-kind plant to be constructed in the Midwest United States. The ethanol facility is designed to process 1,300 tons per day of corn stover and produce 27.5 million gallons of ethanol per year. The cellulosic ethanol product will be used as a blending component in gasoline by fuel manufacturers and will enable them to meet U.S. EPA-mandated requirements for ethanol derived from cellulosic sources.

Company officials went on to say this contract solidifies KBR’s more than 20 year partnership with DuPont.

A California-based biofuels company officially launched its Corn to Cellulosic Migration (CCM) pilot biorefinery this week. The CCM biorefinery is located at the headquarters of Edeniq in Visalia, California.

According to the company, the pilot plant’s technologies can be used as bolt-on technology to existing facilities to allow the use of other feedstocks such as corn stover, switchgrass, sugarcane bagasse, and woodchips.

The plant was constructed in partnership with Logos Technologies Inc. under a $25 million program funded 80% by the Integrated Biorefinery Initiative Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The pilot plant has the capacity to convert two dry tons per day of feedstock into cellulosic sugars and 50,000 gallons per year cellulosic ethanol. According to the Department of Energy, ethanol produced from cellulosic materials has the potential to cut life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86% relative to gasoline.

The ethanol process equipment for the pilot plant was skid mounted and shop manufactured in Michigan and then shipped to California for assembling into the integrated plant. Edeniq is gathering metrics from the pilot plant for construction and scale-up opportunities at commercial-sized facilities.

With a new logo and website, Edeniq celebrated the launch of the pilot plant this week with a new logo and website and an industry event at company headquarters.