Biomass Week - January 23, 2015

Green Biologics raises $76 million to support plant conversion U.K-based Green Biologics Inc. has raised $76 million to support the acquisition and conversion of a Minnesota ethanol plant to produce n-butanol and acetone. The funding will also support continued development of the company's process technology. READ MORE SHARE
EU approves U.K. state aid for Teesside biomass CHP plant The European Commission has approved the U.K.'s plan to provide state aid to the proposed Teesside combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant, a 299 MW, biomass-fired facility. The project is expected to be operational in July 2018. READ MORE SHARE
	Iowa RFS campaign targets presidential candidates, caucus-goers Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has announced a new campaign to promote the renewable fuel standard (RFS) during the 2016 Iowa presidential caucuses. The multimillion dollar effort will aim to educate both candidates and caucus-goers on the RFS. READ MORE SHARE
Agenda announced for 2015 International Biomass Conference & Expo BBI International has announced the agenda for the technical sessions of the 8th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo, North America's largest and fastest growing biomass conference, taking place April 20-22 in Minneapolis. READ MORE SHARE
Novozymes: Bioenergy drives 2014 growth Novozymes has released 2014 financial results, reporting that sales growth was in line with expectations. During an investor call, Peder Holk Nielsen, president and CEO of Novozymes, said bioenergy was the strongest growth driver last year. READ MORE SHARE
Vista pilot waste-to-energy project nears completion Vista International Technologies recently announced that its pilot waste-to-energy (WTE) project is nearly complete. The company's patented thermal gasifier technology uses a low-temperature gasification process. READ MORE SHARE
Hu Honua resumes construction of biomass power plant Hu Honua Bioenergy LLC announced last month that it would resume onsite operations before the close of 2014 on its 30-MW biomass power facility. These operations include final site preparation, delivery of specialized equipment and other activities. READ MORE SHARE
DOE announces ARPA-E funding opportunity The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy has announced plans to award up to $125 million in support of transformational energy projects. The solicitation is the third open funding opportunity announced by ARPA-E. READ MORE SHARE
Work begins on quay extension at Port of Tyne The Port of Tyne has appointed the main contractor for the extension of Riverside Quay, the port's multifunctional deep-sea facility at South Shields. The extension will support the growth in cargo volumes handled by the port, including wood pellets. READ MORE SHARE
Gevo announces cost-saving initiatives, new technology Gevo Inc. has announced several cost-saving initiatives aimed at improving its overall cash flow. The actions are expected to decrease the company's average monthly corporate-wide EBITDA burn rate by 40 percent this year. READ MORE SHARE
Lux Research: Biobased materials, chemicals capacity to increase Led by growth in the U.S. and Brazil, the global capacity to produce bio-based materials and chemicals from emerging technologies will rise to over 7.4 million metric tons in 2018, more than tripling from 2008 levels, according to Lux Research. READ MORE SHARE
Edeniq secures $16 million for cellulosic sugar production Edeniq announced it has raised $16 million in equity. The investment was led by I2BF Global Ventures. Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Angeleno Group, Flint Hills Resources Renewables, Westly Group, Cyrus Capital, and Nimes Capital also participated. READ MORE SHARE
IRENA announces REsource, a new online data platform The International Renewable Energy Agency has launched REsource, an online knowledge platform that enables users to easily find country-specific data, create customized charts and graphs, and compare countries on metrics like renewable energy use. READ MORE SHARE
Ceres discusses progress with sorghum hybrids in quarterly report Ceres Inc. has released financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, reporting progress with its breeding and genetic technologies. During an investor call, the company detailed planting of its sorghum hybrids in Brazil. READ MORE SHARE
IRENA: Many renewable energy sources cheaper than fossil fuels The International Renewable Energy Agency has released a new report that determined many sources of renewable energy are now cheaper than fossil fuels. The report includes data on the the costs of biomass energy around the world. READ MORE SHARE
Algenol launches algae fuels demonstration project in India Algenol and Reliance Industries Ltd. have successfully deployed India's first Algenol algae production platform. The demonstration module is located near the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery. Construction on the project was complete in November. READ MORE SHARE
RusForest engages Hekotek to build pellet plant in Siberia RusForest AB, a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, has engaged AS Hekotek, a mechanical engineering company, to build a wood pellet production facility at the company's Magistralny sawmill in Eastern Siberia. READ MORE SHARE
California offers funding for dairy digester development program The California Department of Food and Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program. Approximately $11 million in competitive grant funding is expected to be awarded. Applications are due Feb. 23. READ MORE SHARE
Tolko, Pinnacle to proceed with pellet plant construction Construction of a proposed pellet plant at Tolko's Lavington mill will begin later this month, Tolko Industries Ltd. and Pinnacle Renewable Energy have announced. The pellet plant is expected to be operational by September. READ MORE SHARE
Amyris to enter the industrial cleaning products market Amyris Inc. has announced it plans to launch its first industrial cleaning products containing Amyris's Myralene renewable solvents through U.S. AutoForce and U.S. Lubricants, divisions of U.S. Venture Inc. READ MORE SHARE
Argonne model analyzes water footprint of biofuels A new version of an online tool created by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory will help biofuels developers gain a detailed understanding of water consumption of various types of feedstocks. READ MORE SHARE
Construction of 44 MW bioenergy plant begins in the U.K. The ground was broken Jan. 20 at the site of a new biomass power plant in Snetterton, U.K. The 44.2 MW straw-powered biomass plant will have capacity to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 82,000 homes. READ MORE SHARE