Biomass Week - July 27, 2012

USDA, DOE invest $41 million in 13 biofuels, biomass projects The USDA and the U.S. DOE announced they are putting $41 million toward 13 projects focused on developing sustainable biomass feedstock sources and increasing the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products. READ MORE SHARE
Coskata shelves cellulosic ethanol, IPO plans Coskata Inc. is shelving its plans to convert biomass into ethanol and complete an initial public offering (IPO) at this time. The company has shifted its focus to natural gas feedstock, and may proceed with IPO plans in the future. READ MORE SHARE
	KiOR renewable gasoline will fuel cars this year The U.S. EPA has granted KiOR Inc. a permit to sell renewable cellulosic gasoline in the U.S. According to Fred Cannon, the EPA's acceptance of KiOR's advanced biofuel blendstock "is a landmark" for the company and for the renewables sector. READ MORE SHARE
Areva buys biocoal technology Areva has acquired Thermya and the rights to a biocoal technology developed by the French torrefaction company. Areva will build plants based on the technology, but will focus in the short-term on commissioning two Thermya-built facilities in Europe. READ MORE SHARE
Low natural gas costs cause dip in biomass prices A new report by Wood Resources International shows biomass prices dropped in the U.S. South, Northeast and West during the second quarter of 2012, primarily due to the continued fall of natural gas prices, which reached a 10 year low. READ MORE SHARE
Evonik, BioAmber partner on catalysts for succinic acid chemicals Evonik Industries' Catalysts Business Line recently agreed with U.S. based BioAmber Inc. on a long term cooperation for the development and manufacturing of catalysts for making BDO, THF and GBL from biobased succinic acid. READ MORE SHARE
ORNL installs biomass gasification system to save money, energy A woody biomass gasification steam plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is increasing efficiency as part of the lab's Energy Savings Performance Contract. Nexterra Systems Corp., the U.S. DOE and Johnson Controls Inc. contributed to the project. READ MORE SHARE
Forest Service funds wood-to-energy initiatives The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a total of $4 million to 12 different wood-to-energy projects throughout the country. The majority of the projects will focus on using woody biomass for either power or thermal applications. READ MORE SHARE
UK releases new Renewables Obligation subsidy levels The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has published levels of financial support that will be available through the Renewables Obligation for large-scale renewable electricity generators from 2013-2017. READ MORE SHARE
Petrochemical firm, biochemical developers to build biorefinery The demand for butadiene, a material used to make rubber tires and electrical appliances, has brought together biobased chemical production companies Genomatica and Novamont with Versalis, an Italian-based petrochemical firm, under an MOU. READ MORE SHARE
Tenn. city to implement PHG Energy waste-to-energy system PHG Energy, a Tennessee-based alternative energy company, announced today an agreement with the city of Covington, Tenn., to convert waste to energy using PHG's downdraft biomass gasification equipment and technology. READ MORE SHARE
BP to showcase biofuel, offer biomass carbon offsets at Olympics BP is providing advanced fuels to help fuel the Olympic fleet of vehicles, including cellulosic ethanol, biomass-based diesel and biobutanol. BP also offers attendees the opportunity to offset carbon emission through biomass power and biogas projects READ MORE SHARE
Waste Management to cut 700 jobs Waste collection, transfer and recycling company Waste Management Inc. announced is eliminating 700 jobs, or roughly 2 percent of its North American job fleet of over 40,000. WM owns and operates more than 100 landfill gas projects in North America. READ MORE SHARE
U.S.DOE's Idaho National Laboratory orders two OriginOil systems OriginOil Inc. has received purchase orders for two test-scale units from the U.S. DOE's Idaho National Labs under its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. One unit is designed to dewater algae continuously and with very low energy. READ MORE SHARE
Algae production to be co-located with Brazilian ethanol plant By fall, Vienna, Austria-based See Algae Technology GmbH expects to begin construction on a one hectare dual-use algae production plant co-located with a sugarcane ethanol plant in Recife, Brazil. The plant could be operational in 2013 READ MORE SHARE
Metabolix, Antibioticos sign LOI for mirel biopolymer resin Metabolix Inc. has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Antibioticos S.A. for production of Mirel biopolymer resin in Leon, Spain. Under the terms of the LOI, the companies will conduct a series of validation production runs. READ MORE SHARE