Domestic Fuel

PetroAlgae has inked a deal with Haldor Topsoe to provide technology and catalysts to upgrade oils produced from PetroAlgae’s biomass through refinery coking processes and pyrolysis into drop-in renewable fuels including diesel and jet fuels. Haldor Topsoe is global company focused on the refining, petrochemical and power industries. Under the agreement, the two companies will work together to apply Haldor Topsoe catalysts, equipment, and licensed technology to upgrade oils derived from PetroAlgae’s biocrude.

PetroAlgae’s micro-crop technology employs indigenous, aquatic micro-organisms suitable to local climates. The company has structured its business in such a way to enable its licensees to produce an alternative to fossil fuels as well as a high-value protein co-product, while absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“We are very excited to be working with Haldor Topsoe to further validate the commercial viability of our micro-crop biomass for use in refinery cokers and the production of a drop in renewable fuel,” said Dr. John Scott, Chairman of PetroAlgae. “They have extensive hydroprocessing research and development expertise from both a catalyst and a technology design standpoint and we see this agreement as just the beginning of a relationship that will help us realize the promise of our biomass as a clean and environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.”

Niels Sorensen, CEO of Haldor Topsoe A/S added, “We look forward to taking this important step with PetroAlgae toward producing renewable fuels. PetroAlgae is a leader in developing technology to produce biomass at a large commercial scale, which enables them to be cost competitive with traditional fossil fuels. Haldor Topsoe is committed to renewable fuels and we are excited about implementing projects that will help reach the goals set for renewable fuels all around the world.”

Rainer Bomba, Undersecretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, visited CHOREN’s Beta plant at Freiberg in the German state of Saxony. His purpose of the visit was to discuss the progress of CHOREN on producing sustainable advanced biofuels and their role in achieving climate protection targets.

“Last year, the Beta plant completed several campaigns of synthesis gas trial production, successfully producing from wood a synthesis gas that is free of tar and aromatics on an industrial scale,” said CHOREN’s CEO Marcell Ulrichs.

Bomba said of his visit, “Industrial-scale BTL production may turn into a milestone in the future use of bioenergy. Therefore I very much hope that the development work of recent years will be rewarded and that the plant will run smoothly. We are planning to make greater use of renewable energies in the transportation sector, too. That includes biofuels – and BTL has particularly high potential in this respect, because far more biological material can be used than is currently the case.”

CHOREN said that there are several benefits of their biosynthetic fuel including significant CO2 reduction, no competition with food production and excellent compatibility with existing drive systems. The Beta plant in Freiberg has an annual capacity of 18 million litres of BTL (biomass to liquid) fuel. CHOREN said they are very active in various projects around the world to construct more BTL plants due to the need for sustainable biofuels.

Professor Dr. Jürgen Leohold, Head of Group Research at Volkswagen AG and a member of the CHOREN supervisory board, added, “BTL is a key technology in reducing greenhouse gas emissions sustainably in the transportation sector.”

The World Biofuels Markets conference has kicked off in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is taking the opportunity to highlight the positive influence ethanol production is having on reducing global greenhouse gas (GHGs) reductions.

A third party consulting firm, (S&T)2 Consultants Inc. has produced data that shows estimated world ethanol production for 2011 will reduce global GHG emissions by 105 million tonnes. This equals a reduction of approximately 287,000 tonnes per day.

“This is very promising news,” explained Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA. “These figures clearly show that biofuels are playing a critical role in reducing harmful GHG emissions around the globe. Biofuels can curb our global addiction to oil – especially considering today’s rising oil prices – and in the wake of the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Cancun, this data is proof that biofuels are vital in the fight against climate change.

Of special note:

• • World ethanol production is currently replacing the need for a million barrels of crude oil per day which would otherwise create 545,000 tonnes of GHG emissions daily.
• • In 2010, world ethanol production was 85.7 billion litres and is estimated to have reduced GHG emissions by 101 million tonnes – a GHG reduction of more than 276,000 tonnes per day.
• • GHG emission reductions of 101 million tonnes represents the equivalent of 18.7 million cars being taken off the road or the total GHG emissions reported by Austria in 2005.
• • In cooperation with F.O. Licht the GRFA are predicting global ethanol production in 2011 to grow by over 3% to 88.7 billion litres. This increase in production will result in a 9% growth in GHG reductions.

Led in part by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has launched the first global third-party certification system for sustainable biofuels. To be certified “sustainable” the fuel must meet a set of environmental, social and economic principles and criteria set forth by the group. The certification process takes place online and there are online tools available to assist in the process.

“It’s one thing to say your product is sustainable and another to prove it,” said Barbara Bramble, Senior Advisor for the International Climate and Energy Program at the National Wildlife Federation. “This new system makes it easy to differentiate between biofuels that are environmentally destructive and biofuels that deliver on the promise of sustainability.”

Many groups and organizations have lobbied global concerns over the development of biofuels including indirect land use, food versus fuel, biogenic emissions and land grabbing. The certification system covers all of these major issues and more including their contribution to climate change mitigation and rural development; their protection of land and labor rights; and their impacts on biodiversity, soil and water pollution, water availability and food security.

“All biofuels are not created equal,” said Bramble. “Bringing accountability, consistency and transparency to the global biofuels market is a giant first step toward stopping those practices that result in tropical deforestation, habitat destruction and increased pollution. The RSB is all about enabling biofuels markets to reward those producers who protect natural resources and avoid negative impacts on local communities.”

The certification system will be operated by RSB Services, which is the “business arm” of the RSB, providing access to the certification process, licensing, and auditors’ training among other activities. During the meetings to approve the certification, more than 120 organizations that included farmers, refiners, retailers, and NGOs came to an agreement. Now the group is asking the marketplace to recognize the industry leaders who are producing sustainable biofuels.

Oilseed growers, led by the American Soybean Association (ASA), have raised concerns with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk over the European Union’s (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED), particularly the part that is keeping American soybeans out of Europe for biofuel production.

The ASA is asking to meet with Vilsack’s and Kirk’s respective agencies to consider options for responding to the trade barriers:

ASA believes a highly coordinated effort is needed to identify and respond to the immediate, as well as longer-term, market threats resulting from RED implementation. “Trade reports indicate that, since the RED was implemented by Germany on January 1, 2011, U.S. soybean exports to that country have declined significantly, and soybean oil processed in the EU from U.S. soybeans is being re-exported out of the EU,” said ASA First Vice President Steve Wellman, a soybean producer from Syracuse, Neb. “As other Member States transpose the RED into national law, ASA anticipates the economic viability of exporting U.S. soybeans to the EU will be further eroded, and that a $1 billion market could be lost.”

In order for biofuels to qualify for EU tax credits and use mandates, the RED requires that biofuel feedstocks must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 35 percent by 2013, and by 50 percent by 2017, compared to petroleum diesel. Based on Brazilian production and transportation data, the EU set the greenhouse gas savings default value for soy biodiesel at 31 percent, short of the 35 percent reduction required. This disqualifies soy as a feedstock for biodiesel. EU-grown rapeseed however passed with a 38 percent value. Since virtually all of the soybean oil processed from U.S. soybeans in the EU is used in biodiesel production, disqualification jeopardizes $1 billion in annual sales of soybeans to EU markets.

The ASA cites a study funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) that shows American soy biodiesel actually reduces greenhouse gas emission by up to 52 percent.

The Victorian government is participating in an Electric Vehicle Trial and as part of creating awareness about electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia the “Oz Goes Electric” tour is kicking off on March 16. The featured EV is the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car, that will travel 3,000 kilometers along the Eastern coast of the country to demonstrate that electric is sleek, sexy and speedy.

The tour begins at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne with officials from the Victorian government and Department of Transportation. From there, the tour will head to Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. When the Tesla Roadster arrives in each town, not only will the EV be on display, but people will be able to participate in test drive events.

“The Victorian government’s Electric Vehicle Trial aims to improve awareness, understanding and acceptance of electric vehicles,” said Kristian Handberg, project manager for the Department of Transportation. “The trial is bringing vehicles, drivers, charging points, energy suppliers and other market participants together to build the foundations of Victoria’s electric vehicle market and make Victoria an EV-friendly place.”

According to Tesla, the handmade, carbon fiber Roadster is the only car that delivers supercar performance with zero tailpipe emissions. The Roadster is powered by the most energy-dense battery in the industry, and accelerates from 0 to 100 kph in less than 4 seconds while consuming no petroleum. It can travel 360 km on a single charge and plugs into nearly any electrical outlet. The Tesla Roadster holds the record for distance driven on a single charge in a production electric vehicle, which was broken driving 501 kilometers in Australia. The EV also requires less routine maintenance than conventional cars, requiring no oil changes or smog checks, and has no spark plugs or pistons to replace.

“This road trip is a milestone. It’s the first time an electric vehicle has traveled a significant distance in Australia, charging along the way,” said Jay McCormack, Australian National Sales Manager for Tesla. “Many Australians will be seeing an EV for the first time, and we want them to see with their own eyes that electric cars can perform just as well as conventional cars without the emissions.”

The Roadster is the only sports car in the world that can be fully charged with renewable sources of energy. Throughout the Oz Goes Electric Tour, the Roadster will charge using solar, wind, hydro and biomass energy provided by major utility AGL Resources. You can follow Tesla’s Australian adventure here.

General Electric (GE) has introduced its 4.1-113 wind turbine, a four-megawatt (MW) class machine that is optimized for offshore use. In addition, the company has signed a contract to supply the turbines, along with other services, to Göteborg Energi for installation in the Gothenburg, Sweden harbor later this year. The project is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency. The announcement was made during the European Wind Energy Association’s conference today. GE also has joined the Chalmers Wind Energy Center to collaborate on additional projects.

While Sweden sees great opportunity for growth in offshore wind, North America has seen nothing but hurdles. Even approved projects (Cape Wind) in the U.S. have stalled and Canada has also significantly slowed its offshore wind efforts.

“We are proud to announce the next milestone in our offshore strategy plan. Our 4.1-113 wind turbine represents our most advanced technology. It is the only direct-drive wind turbine designed specifically for offshore today,” said Victor Abate, vice president—renewable energy for GE Power & Water. “With Göteborg Energi we have a great partner and we welcome the support of the local authorities on our project.”

According to GE, there are fewer moving parts and the direct-drive technology provides a simple, reliable design with built-in redundancy and partial operation for major components. Combined, these improvements keep the turbines operating more reliably at sea. GE says the direct-drive technology eliminates costly gearbox parts, lowers operating expenses, and also relies on an innovative modular approach to maximize in-situ repair and reduce the need for large repair vessels. The 4.1-113 blade design is optimized to maximize energy capture.

“GE offers the most advanced technology with a proven platform and maximum output,” said Jonas Cognell, director renewable electricity of Göteborg Energi. “In Sweden, there is still a lot of potential for the wind energy business, especially offshore.”

F.O. Licht’s 7th Annual Sugar and Ethanol Brazil conference is just around the corner (March 28-30) in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association is one of the headline speakers. Topics for the conference include meeting the requirements of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) and how sugarcane ethanol from Brazil and CBI may play a role.

At the conference, attendees will learn how high sugar prices and rising oil prices could affect the sugar and ethanol production balance this year, and what this means for global trade. In addition, Dinneen will discuss how these moving parts could affect the U.S. market. Along with Dinneen, other speakers include leading Brazilian producers, members from the Brazilian government and international analysts.

Other speakers include:

• • José Carlos Grubisich, President, ETH Bioenergia
• • Mark T. Lyra, Business Development Director – Commercial Ethanol, COSAN S/A
• • Ricardo Gomide, Deputy Director, Dept. Renewable Fuels, Department of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels, Ministry of Mines and Energy
• • Andy Duff, Food & Agribusiness Research & Advisory, Banco Rabobank International Brasil SA
• • Bob Dinneen, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA)

Click here for more information about the conference.

The world’s largest soybean processing plant, which produces biodiesel, soybean oil and meal, is using an enzyme that is helping increase edible oil production.

This press release from Verenium Corporation says that Argentina’s Terminal 6 is using Verenium’s Purifine enzymatic degumming process at its Puerto General San Martin facility. Not only does the process increase oil yields, but it also adds benefits in refining the Purifine-degummed oil:

“Terminal 6 is a leading processor of soybeans, and a flagship plant for Bunge Argentina and Aceitera General Deheza,” said Janet Roemer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Verenium. “Verenium is pleased to be able to work with Terminal 6 to enable enhanced operating efficiency through the use of Purifine PLC. This implementation provides further validation of Verenium’s Purifine technology to increase oil yields and improve the efficacy of meal production, and has been enabled by our partnerships with Alfa Laval and Bunge.”

“The implementation of Verenium’s PLC technology at Terminal 6 combined with Alfa Laval’s process, engineering and equipment supply capabilities, is the second large scale project we have completed together,” said Bent Sarup, General Manager of Alfa Laval’s Vegetable Oil Technology activities. “Completion of the start up of Terminal 6′s new process is further validation of our ongoing partnership with Verenium.”

The Terminal 6 industrial facility is specifically designed to use large-scale process efficiencies that maximizes oil and meal from soybeans at a low cost. Verenium’s enzyme will improve those efficiencies by lowering oil loss.

In the great tradition of saving the best for last, the 2011 National Ethanol Conference concluded with a lively panel discussion featuring global ethanol leaders.

Those on the panel were (LtoR) George Fitch, Director of the Caribbean Basic Ethanol Producers Association; Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association; Marcos Jank, president and CEO of Brazil’s UNICA; Robert Vierhout, Secretary General of ePURE, European Renewable Ethanol; and Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association.

Moderator Bliss Baker with the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance started the session off with a bang by asking Jank his opinion on the United States tariff on imported ethanol. “I’d like to say ‘happy 30th anniversary’ to RFA,” Jank responded, turning his attention to Dinneen on his right. “I was questioning myself, if after 30 years the industry is not now a mature industry, which means if the industry still needs subsidy or not, still needs a tariff or not.”

Noting that the U.S. is now the largest ethanol producer in the world, Jank said to Dinneen, “I hope that in three years you will be a free trader as we are. It’s time to eliminate the tariff, it’s time to compete.”

The Caribbean’s Fitch challenged Jank’s position on the tariff issue and encouraged Brazil to avoid taking action against the U.S. tariff with the WTO. “The tariff is not WTO actionable,” Fitch said. “So what you’re doing is creating trade hostilities that you don’t need to create.” He suggested instead that Brazil continue marketing ethanol to the U.S. through the Caribbean Basin. “I would think that UNICA might want to use this as an initiative on their part,” he said. Brazil now can have their own Caribbean Basin Initiative to help countries not as advanced as they are … as opposed to getting into what could be a very nasty trade fight by going after the tariff.”
Read the rest of this post…

As U.S. crude oil touches a $100 a barrel for the second time since October 2008, consumers are seeing gasoline prices rising at the pump and oil economists are talking about the real possibility of $4.00 and $5.00 gallons of gas. Four dollar gas is close – when I bought gas yesterday it was $3.79 a gallon.

In a press conference held by ethanol industry organization Growth Energy yesterday afternoon, former politician and Growth Energy President and COO, Jim Nussle commented that with the continued Libyan fighting, an unbalanced budget and rising gas prices, he didn’t know how many more warning signs it was going to take for his former DC colleagues to realize we’re in trouble.

“America is currently in an energy crisis. That crisis didn’t just begin yesterday when we topped over a $100 a barrel of oil again,” said Nussle. “It’s been going on for years. Since we started and since we maintain our growing dependence on foreign oil.”

Growth Energy CEO, Tom Buis noted that ethanol is the only current solution to our problems. He said is not a “someday fuel,” it’s already had a major, positive impact for America. He addressed why some current Republications like Sullivan and Flake feel now is the time to block the roll-out of E15 and keep ethanol from market access is a mistake on two levels. First, the anti-ethanol provisions don’t save much money in the budget and our dependence on oil actually costs the country much more money. Second, ethanol saves consumers money at the pump. And maybe most important, ethanol is American made.

Buis added, ““During a fragile economic recovery, when many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, we cannot continue a policy that keeps us addicted to foreign oil – especially as political upheaval in the Mid East and North Africa pushes gas prices closer and closer to $5 a gallon. If we truly want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and strengthen this country’s economy and national security, we must invest in the alternative fuels we have the capacity to produce here in the United States,” added Buis.

You can listen to the entire press conference (taped from the a coffee shop in Sacramento where I was attending an event) where Tom Buis and Jim Nussle where joined by Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) here: Mid East Unrest & $100 Oil

According to a new report, “Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems (IFES) Work for People and Climate – An Overview,” the simultaneous production of food and fuel by farmers can help to reduce poverty in countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. This according to FAO who published the report this week.

“Farming systems that combine food and energy crops present numerous benefits to poor rural communities,” said Alexander Müller, FAO Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources. “For example, poor farmers can use leftovers from rice crops to produce bioenergy, or in an agroforestry system can use debris of trees used to grow crops like fruits, coconuts or coffee beans for cooking.”

Müller noted that other types of food and energy systems use byproducts from livestock or biogas production and with this type of integrated systems, farmers can save money – they don’t have to buy expensive fossil fuel or chemical fertilizers. Rather, than can use the slurry from biogas production, a more sustainable, less costly alternative.

“They can then use the savings to buy necessary inputs to increase agricultural productivity, such as seeds adapted to changing climatic conditions — an important factor given that a significant increase in food production in the next decades will have to be carried out under conditions of climate change. All this increases their resilience, hence their capacity to adapt to climate change,” said Müller.

IFES are also beneficial to women as they can eliminate the need to leave their crops to go in search of firewood. In addition, the report concludes that IFES farming can help to mitigate climate change, especially emissions stemming from land use change, because there is less chance land will need to be converted.

In conclusion, Olivier Dubois, an FAO energy expert said, “Promoting the advantages of IFES and improving the policy and institutional environment for such systems should become a priority. FAO is well placed to coordinate these efforts by providing knowledge and technical support for IFES implementation.”

The Canadian biodiesel industry got a huge push last week when the federal government fulfilled its commitment to move forward with the Renewable Diesel Standard beginning July 1, 2011. According to Canadian Renewable Fuels Association President (CRFA) Gordon Quaiattini, the requirement to meet a 2 percent renewable diesel mandate in Canada will require nearly 600 million liters of biodiesel annually. To date, the Canadian biodiesel industry has built out about 200 liters of capacity so it will need to triple to meet the demand of the mandate.

“We think it’s certainly a milestone date for homegrown renewable biodiesel in Canada,” said Quaiattini in an interview via Skype. “As we have long been advocating, we believe strongly that biodiesel is a better way to drive and certainly an innovative way to fuel our economy in Canada.”

Quaiattini said that this mandate is a signal to investors who have a number of planned expansion projects in place to move ahead and this will ensure the industry builds out the additional capacity required to meet demand that will ramp up over the next 18 months. Oil companies, who are the obligated parties, will have until the end of 2012 for the first compliance period, and then after that, they will need to comply with the mandate each calendar year.

The CRFA has been working closely with the federal government on the mandate and will continue to do so throughout the mandatory consultation process that will begin shortly around this decision. In addition, they are working with provincial governments as well who have also passed biodiesel mandates. For example, this April, Alberta’s biodiesel mandate goes into effect. In addition, CRFA is prepared to work with companies and their investors that are interested in building out additional production capacity to ensure they understand the incentive environment that is in place.

Quaiattini closed the interview by posing the question, “What’s next?”

“It only makes sense to talk about doing more. Now that we’ve got this first 2 percent mandate coming into effect, at what pace do we look at expansion beyond it and that’s certainly going to be a discussion we’ll be having with governments here in Canada moving forward.”

You can listen to my full interview with Gordon here: Interview with Gordon Quaiattini

2011 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

Worldwide ethanol production will replace one million barrels of oil per day this year, according to the latest forecast by the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA).

In its global annual ethanol production forecast released today, the GRFA forecasts ethanol production to hit 88.7 billion litres in 2011, up three percent from 85.8 billion litres in 2010. Global production has now surpassed 550 million barrels of ethanol per year according to data compiled by F.O. Licht.

The United States continues to be the largest ethanol producer in the world with production levels expected to reach over 51 billion litres (13.5 U.S. gallons) in 2011.

The African continent has tremendous potential for biofuels production; however, production levels remain very low despite recent efforts by some countries to kick-start biofuel programs. The African continent is forecast to produce 170 million litres of ethanol in 2011, despite sub-Saharan Africa having one billion hectares of rain fed, crop producing land that could be producing biomass for ethanol according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Read more here.

All diesel fuel in Canada … for heating and transportation … will be required to have at least a 2 percent blend starting July 1, 2011.

This article from Reuters says this requirement joins the country’s 5 percent renewable content in gasoline:

Industry and investors had grown impatient waiting for word on the proposed regulatory change for diesel. The government said it needed proof from demonstration projects that biodiesel could perform under Canadian conditions before it set a start date.

“It will help moderate price by adding to our fuel supply, create new jobs, and benefit farmers and drivers alike.”

The mandate could end up being a boon for the U.S. biodiesel industry. Right now, about 75 percent of biodiesel produced in Canada is sent to America. But with the new mandate, more of that will have to stay home, and possibly, the Canadians might have to get some biodiesel from their friends to the south to meet the requirement.