Green Chemicals Blog
algae
Algae: Should they stay or should they go?
Sorry about the title, but my brain is clouded with the Clash song. I must confess that I’ve been indoctrinated with classic rock music for the past 4-5 years, so they’re now sticking in my brain cells. So, algae…remember the days of Solazyme and Sapphire Energy? I remember the former Cereplast had a subsidiary called … Continue reading
US DOE Selects Awardees for Phase I Innovation Projects
I am interested in this news as not only does it gives me hope that the US Department of Energy (DOE) still give grants that not only boost small businesses but these small businesses are focusing on research projects targeting bio-based materials production, processes that lower carbon footprint as well as enabling circular carbon economy … Continue reading
TerraVia sells Algenist
TerraVia (formerly Solazyme) recently announced the sale of 80% of its interest in its Algenist business to Tengram Capital Partners, a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on consumer and retail companies that owns exclusive, highly recognizable brands. As part of the transaction, TerraVia will continue to be an ingredient supplier for the Algenist brand, which includes … Continue reading
DOE releases initial 2016 Biomass report
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has rolled out the first volume of its 2016 Billion-Ton biomass report looking into the potential for US to sustainably produce at least one billion dry tons of non-food biomass resources annually by 2040. This is the third … Continue reading
Solazyme changes name, abandons commodity chems and biofuel
It should not come as a shock that Solazyme is now fully rebranding itself as a food and nutrition ingredients producer after recent announcements of production restructuring and layoffs. The company released a statement today that it has renamed itself as “TerraVia” and will now exclusively focus on food, nutrition and specialty ingredients using its … Continue reading
UPS expands renewable fuels consumption
It seems ‘Brown’ has become green when UPS recently announced its plans to use up to 46 million gallons of renewable fuels over the next three years, a 15-fold increase over prior contracts, and making UPS one of the largest users of renewable diesel in the world. The agreement includes companies such as Neste, Renewable … Continue reading
DOE awards $18m grant to algae-based projects
Let me post this before I leave for Montreal, Canada, today. The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced six projects that will receive up to $18 million in funding to reduce the modeled price of algae-based biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019. Algal biomass can be converted to … Continue reading
Joule bags $40m for CO2-to-ethanol project
Joule has closed a $40 million in private equity and venture debt financing led by existing investors, including Flagship Ventures, and brings the company’s total to $200 million raised to date.The proceeds will be applied towards a staged industrialization of its patented, reverse-combustion process, including the near-term expansion of Joule’s production field in Hobbs, New Mexico. … Continue reading
Solazyme still faces production challenges at Moema
I wonder how long the petrochemical industry had perfected its processing technologies before it was able to reach an economical, efficient level? Unfortunately, investors today are not too forgiving when new, untested technologies from public companies are facing commercialization challenges. Solazyme is now going through this stage and their stocks had plunged from $11.79 a … Continue reading
LanzaTech, IOC-DBT to produce omega-3 fatty acids
LanzaTech together with a research team from the IOC-DBT Center for Advanced Bio-Energy Research (an entity co-funded by India’s Department of Biotechnology and Indian Oil Corporation Limited) have developed a process that recycles CO2 emissions into omega-3 rich fatty acids. Essential nutrients, omega-3 oils, cannot be synthesized by the human body, and instead must be … Continue reading