Today, Virent Energy Systems announced that it has closed its third round of funding totaling $46.4 million. Two of the company’s largest investors, Cargill and Shell, increased their financial commitments as part of this funding round as did all other current investors. The money will be used to advance the company’s efforts to bring to market its BioForming process, a patented catalytic biorefinery platform, to commercial production volumes. Virent is a company that specializes in converting plant sugars into sustainable advanced fuels for cars, trucks, trains, and airplanes.
“Virent has a competitive advantage from our strong relationships with two premier, global companies, Shell and Cargill. Their significant capabilities and expertise across the value chain will be essential to accelerating deployment of Virent’s BioForming technology at commercial scale,” said Lee Edwards, Virent President and CEO. “I am especially gratified that our accomplishments to date have resulted in a $46.4 million funding round, which is well above our initial $25-40 million objective.”
The agreement also expands Virent’s existing research and development collaboration with Shell for the production of biogasoline to include diesel fuel and awards Shell a seat on the company’s board.
Here’s a great article that blurs the lines between biodiesel and ethanol, Virent has some interesting technologies that may change the way you and I talk about biofuel. You might also want to see this article from: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20007072-54.html
An employee at Virent holds sugar bagasse, the residue from sugar cane harvesting, which can be turned into a gasoline equivalent liquid fuel.
Photo from: http://mypalmoil.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved a contract for Sime Darby, Malaysia's leading multinational conglomerate, to provide approximately 1 million gallons of palm oil-derived biodiesel for use in Maui Electric Company’s Biodiesel Demonstration Project at its Ma'alaea Power Plant. The demonstration will assess the use of biodiesel in place of petroleum-diesel in Maui Electric’s diesel generating units and other diesel units around the state. Converting to biodiesel will be an important part of meeting Hawaii’s renewable energy goal of 40 percent of electricity from renewable resources by 2030. Maui Electric has long used clean-burning biodiesel for start up and shut down of its diesel generators but the demonstration will test biodiesel for four months to determine its long-term effect on air emissions, heat rate, operations and maintenance costs and other factors. The PUC has also approved a two-year contract for a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Group Inc. to supply three to seven million gallons of renewable biodiesel annually to fuel Hawaiian Electric Company’s new 110-megawatt combustion turbine generator unit at Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station.The biodiesel is processed from used cooking oil and waste animal fat.
Hawaii is very serious about generating electrical power from biodiesel, as this big purchase shows, but why didn’t they “buy American” all the way? Not sure about the future of American-made biodiesel, perhaps? Just wondering.
Photo of 10K gal. biodiesel tank from: http://www.ncports.com/stem2stern_read.htm?i=22
The Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission has voted to remove vapor-reduction requirements on a biodiesel fuel tank that the Blaine County School District plans to install near Wood River High School this summer.
The commission was told Monday that nozzles used to collect vapors from gasoline hoses do not exist for diesel uses because the evaporation rates of diesel fuel do not require use of vapor-reduction devices.
The district board of trustees narrowly approved a controversial plan in March to install a 12,000-gallon biodiesel storage tank at the bus depot on Fox Acres Road in eastern Hailey. The district received a conditional-use permit from the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission last fall, allowing fuel storage at the depot.
One of the many conditions required by the commission was that the tank hoses, and the tanker truck hoses servicing the tank, be fitted with vapor-reduction devices to collect diesel fumes.
The commission voted unanimously to remove both requirements after Norm Hobson, of Dales Service of Boise, spoke on behalf of the school district.
Submit your presentation abstract now for the upcoming Biofuels International expo Asia & conference in Kuala Lumpur on 10-11 November. After last year’s successful event in Singapore the event, organised by Biofuels International magazine, is moving to Malaysia this year with the theme: improving profitability in biofuels production. The potential for biodiesel production across Asia is enormous. As well as Malaysia and Indonesia being the two largest palm oil-producing countries, the conditions are also suitable for other feedstocks such as jatropha and biomass. But despite this Asia’s biodiesel manufacturers are finding profits elusive in a market characterised by poor demand, rapidly rising feedstocks and reduced trading routes to the US. Supplies of biodiesel appear to have outstripped demand in many countries and many of the new plants that have come online and now lying idling or not operating at full capacity. Total biodiesel mandates in Asia would amount to 1.7 million tonnes but due to poor implementation in Malaysia, as well as Indonesia, mandates are achieving only 500,000 tonnes – less than 10% of biodiesel capacity in Asia.
I will look forward to news of this conference, but if you attend, please post about it in the forum. Always happy to hear from those who attend a show or seminar about biodiesel.