Brazil is a vast country of abundant natural resources, and Brazilians are anxious both to preserve irreplaceable habitats and fulfill their potential to contribute significantly to global energy and food supply. Finding the right balance is crucial, not just to Read more…
A previous post discussed the dismissal of Danisco‘s declaratory judgment action against its rival Novozymes. As described by the San Francisco district court decision, the Danish companies are “reputedly the two major competitors in the field of developing and supplying industrial enzymes Read more…
According to a new report from the US Energy Information Administration, the number of gas stations offering E85 ethanol has more than doubled in the last seven years. Last year, the EIA counted a total 2,625 flex-fuel stations in the Read more…
Biodiesel and ethanol both fall under the category of “biofuels,” which describes any fuel synthesized from plant or animal matter. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Biodiesel offers a significantly improved environmental impact compared to both ethanol and
Previous posts (e.g., here and here) discussed the series of patent infringement suits brought by GreenShift and its New York subsidiary, GS Cleantech (GS), against a host of ethanol producers across the midwestern United States. The litigation currently consists of Read more…
A new study called Sustainable bioenergy production from marginal lands in the US Midwest shows how marginal lands deemed unsuitable for food crops can be used to grow grassy and non-woody plants as biomass for alternative energy fuels. According to Read more…
A previous post reported on a declaratory judgment action brought by DuPont-owned biopharmaceutical company Danisco against Novozymes. The two companies are both Danish and appear to be arch rivals. As the court described it, they are “reputedly the two major Read more…
Chemical giant DuPont has started construction of a large-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Iowa capable of converting corn stalks and leaves into a biofuel that could be used in place of fossil fuels at some power plants. The $200 million Read more…
U.S. meat, poultry, and dairy producers are urging the Obama administration to suspend a quota for corn-based ethanol production, warning that the renewable fuels standard could trigger a food crisis as a prolonged drought pushes corn and soybean prices to Read more…
While the race to find the next alternative fuel dominates much of the green automobile conversation, there are significant efforts being made to improve existing technologies. Ethanol direct injection (ethanol DI) is one such development that could dramatically improve fuel Read more…
A U.S. biotechnology company is planning to build the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels plant in Mississippi, where it will be able to use wood chips and other plant matter as an alternative to corn in the production of ethanol. Read more…
Biofuel production has ratcheted up to become a major part of America’s energy and agricultural industries. Corn, or maize, is by far the most widely grown crop to be converted into ethanol. However, the dominance of maize in the biofuel Read more…
A series of recent policy-related developments within the biofuels industry may have set the stage for what could prove to be a significant shift in biofuel geopolitics over the next decade. To recap: the European Court of Justice (ECJ) affirmed Read more…
In previous posts I discussed the patent infringement suit brought by Danish biotech Novozymes against its rival Danisco (recently acquired by DuPont). Specifically, Novozymes sued Danisco in May 2010 in the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Read more…