Teru Talk
Newsletter
Volume I, Issue 32,
October 3,
2011
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's
Trash Talk
It is
all too easy to only
see the completed
Whats-it, and judge the
status of Whats-it
development by how many
completed models are on
the showroom floor.
True, when we think of
Biofuels, especially
"Drop-In Biofuels", we
really want to
know about the
companies that have it
all figured out, the
firms that can bring
big buckets to fill our
trains, planes and
automobiles. But our
industry is the whole
of the workshop, not
just what comes off the
end of the assembly
line. Now is the time
for "industry
aggregation", for
Mergers and
Acquisitions … for the
kinds of strategic
partnerships that get
those who make the
straw bales together
with the enzyme guys,
get those two together
with the companies
making the AD units and
wind up with the gas
clean-up and
compression teams. We
have a whole swirl of
companies doggedly
working on the left
end, whilst others work
on the right end. When
they meet in the
middle, we start to see
some Serious
Production.
Our
Advanced Biofuels
Industry must be viewed
as the complement of
all the companies, the
sum of the parts that
compose the Value
Chain. We need the
companies that
specialize in front-end
Feedstock, whether that
comes from forests or
trash piles, fish
wastes or oil seeds. We
need the pre-treatment
companies with their
chippers and grinders,
acid baths,
super-critical water
and explosive
pressure-drops, and
don't forget the
Enzymes. Then we need
the Conversion
specialists, whether
thermal, microbial, or
kinetic, those that can
un-bake the molecular
cake. Next we get to
companies who can take
raw product crumbs,
slurries and gases, and
refine and reform that
stuff to make clean,
to-specification,
ready-to-use Drop-In
Biofuel.
Some
companies already Do It
All, bless 'em, and we
recognize those
too-rare few as our
turn-key Advanced
Biofuels companies.
That's OK, but the
greater crowd stands
waiting, each needing
to meet their own dance
partners. Everywhere we
look now, small
specialists are getting
together. Joint
Ventures are the order
of the day, the
Investment Community is
taking notice, and our
industry has started to
get all the separate
parts configured into
the real deal. So size
up the prospective
partners, walk up and
say, "Howdy, ya wanna
dance?"
Hey
Rube!
Here's a simple
plea from your Media Wonk:
find some high school
wizard who can help update
your website. Think about
what you are doing that is
New, and put out a press
release every other month
or so. Let the Good People
Out There know you exist,
or they won't know where to
send their
money.
The Week's
News
Berkeley
Lab Researchers Discover
Drop-In Biofuel
Substitute for #2
Diesel
Researchers at the US
Department of Energy's
Joint BioEnergy Institute
(JBEI) at Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory
identify a new
microbe-produced advanced
biofuel as a direct
replacement for #2 Diesel.
10/01/2011
NCGR
Gets $1.1MM of USDA AFRI
Grant for Biomass Gene
Research
The National Center for
Genome Resources (NCGR)
will receive about $1.1
million over four years to
provide gene sequencing and
analysis to optimize for
characteristics amenable to
production of advanced
biofuels.
10/01/2011
PowerVerde's
50kW Renewable Waste
Heat System Licensed in
Europe
Arizona based PowerVerde
Inc has entered into a
definitive agreement with
the Netherlands renewable
energy investment company
Newton Investments BV, dba
Newton Greenpower to
distribute and manufacture
the "Liberator,"
PowerVerde's 50 kilowatt
(kW) renewable electricity
generating waste heat
recovery system.
10/01/2011
Biomass
and Biofuels Companies
Also Benefit from USDA
Grant to
Universities
The United States
Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) Agriculture and Food
Research Initiative (AFRI)
awarded more than $136
million to five
University-led teams to
support five years of
research. Each team
included advanced biofuels,
biochemicals, bioenergy and
biomass feedstock
management companies that
will directly benefit from
the funding, and
information on some of
those teams has become
available.
09/30/2011
Renmatix
Introduces
Super-Critical Water
Conversion of Biomass to
Sugar
The
Renmatix
demonstration
facility in Kennesaw,
Georgia converts
three dry tons of
biomass per day to
sugars with its
proprietary Plantrose
Process that uses
super-critical water
hydrolysis.
09/30/2011
50
Million Tonnes of US
Food Waste Annually
Impact Climate
Change
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
firm CleanMetrics has
released an analysis of US
Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service
(USDA/ERS) 2009 food
availability data,
emphasizing the percentage,
tonnage, and greenhouse gas
emissions by category of
food waste in the United
States.
09/30/2011
CalRecycle
Schedules Workshop on
Anaerobic Digestion
Regulatory
Issues
The California Department
of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) will
host an informal workshop
on October 18, 2011 to
explore twelve key issues
surrounding Title 14 and
Title 27 draft regulatory
revisions pertaining to
anaerobic digestion (AD).
09/30/2011
UK's
NNFCC Reports Bioliquid
Fuel Is Viable
Alternative to Petro
Heating
Oil
The National Centre for
Biorenewable Energy, Fuels
and Materials (NNFCC) has
released a report finding
that the benefits of using
bio-sourced liquid fuels
for heating is an
environmentally and
economically viable
alternative to using
petroleum-sourced heating
oils.
09/29/2011
USDA
$136MM Supports
University-Led Next-Gen
Biofuels Research
Projects
US Department of
Agriculture Secretary
Vilsack announced five
grants from the agency's
Agriculture and Food
Research Initiative (AFRI)
to next-generation biofuels
research and development
projects to public/private
partners, providing more
than $136 million in
support over a five year
period.
09/29/2011
Plastic/Aluminum
Laminate Recovery
Process Works for
"Unrecyclables"
United Kingdom (UK) based
Enval has announced that
its process for recycling
plastic/aluminum laminates
has been judged
environmentally and
economically viable
according to an assessment
report just released by the
Waste & Resources
Action Programme (WRAP).
09/28/2011
LanzaTech
JV Will Build Chinese
Demo Plant to Convert
Steel Mill
Emissions
China’s steel milling
pioneer Shougang Group has
signed a joint venture (JV)
agreement with New
Zealand's LanzaTech to
construct a demonstration
plant at one of its mills
with the intent to quickly
scale the JV demonstration
plant to a fully commercial
facility.
09/28/2011
Amyris
and Michelin Collaborate
on Renewable Isoprene
Development
California-based renewable
fuel and chemical company
Amyris has entered into a
collaborative agreement
with French-based Michelin
to develop the company's No
Compromise® renewable
isoprene, the foundation
chemical for production of
synthetic and natural
rubbers such as used in
tires, adhesives, coatings
and sealants.
09/28/2011
ACEEE
Releases National CHP
Market Assessment -
Cites Barriers, Uneven
Growth
The American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE) finds uneven growth
in the Combined Heat and
Power (CHP) market across
the states as detailed in
its report, "Challenges
Facing Combined Heat and
Power Today: A
State-by-State Assessment."
09/28/2011
COLBIOCEL
Will Use Chemtex PROESA
Process at Cellulosic
Ethanol
Facility
Colombiana de
Biocombustibles Celulosicos
(COLBICEL) will use
Chemtex's proprietary
PROESAproduction platform
to convert sugar cane
bagasse into 85,000 metric
tons per year of cellulosic
ethanol at a facility in
Chitaraque, Columbia.
09/27/2011
WSU
Researcher Awarded $300K
for Advanced Biofuels
from Cellulosic
Biomass
Assistant Professor Bin
Yang of Washington State
University's Department of
Biological Sciences will
receive a $300,000 grant to
expand on his research into
co-production of ethanol
and jet fuel from
cellulosic biomass.
09/27/2011
Texas
AgriLife Field Day:
Closed-Loop Shrimp for
Food/BioCrop for
Biofuels
Dr. Tzachi Samocha, a Texas
AgriLife Research Center
scientist, will discuss his
team's shrimp production
methodology dur
09/27/2011
Biogas
Council Holds Sep 29th
Webinar on Upcoming 1603
Tax Credit
Deadline
The American Biogas Council
(ABC) is presenting a
webinar on "Meeting the
1603 Deadline: Strategies,
Safe Harbor and More,"
Thursday, September 29,
2011 from 12:00 pm -1:30 pm
ET to explore the
Department of Energy’s
Investment Tax Credit Grant
("ITC"; Section 1603)
Program.
09/26/2011
Pew
Charitable Trusts
Release Report on DoD
and Clean
Energy
The Pew Charitable Trusts
have released a study of
the US Department of
Defense's (DoD)
"Operational Energy
Strategy" toward
alternative energy,
entitled "From Barracks to
Battlefield: Clean Energy
innovation and America's
Armed Forces".
09/26/2011
DOE
Approves Cellulosic
Ethanol Loan Guarantee
for POET's Project
LIBERTY
The US Department of Energy
has given its final $105
million loan guarantee
approval to POET's 25
million gallon per year
cellulosic ethanol project
in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
09/26/2011
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