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 an earlier ruling that held the imposition of (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 No. 7,713,723 (’723 (more…)

A recent study, released on 11 October, “Biofuel and Technologies” released by Pike Research states that the global biofuel market will double within the next decade to $183.3 billion from its current level of $82.7 billion, with ethanol production accounting for $78 billion of future worldwide biofuel production, while predicting that biodiesel production will reach $25.5 billion. Perhaps not surprisingly, Pike Research predicts that the US will become the world’s leading biofuel producer, accounting for 71 percent of alternative fuel by 2021.

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A previous post reported on the consolidation of a number of patent infringement suits brought by GreenShift and its New York subsidiary, GS Cleantech, against a host of ethanol producers across the midwestern United States.

GreenShift has accused the defendants of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,601,858 (’858 Patent), entitled (more…)

Biofuels remain the orphan child of western energy interests – like adopting children, everyone agrees that it’s a good idea, but not many want an alien rugrat in the house.

Now China, arguably the world’s most influential and dynamic economy, is beginning to eye renewables as (more…)

Cargill is an American private multinational corporation that is involved in a number of businesses, including agricultural commodities, sale and manufacturing of feed and livestock, food ingredient production such as glucose syrup, starch, and vegetable oils and fats used in processed food (more…)

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) have made a discovery that could increase the production of ethanol and lower its costs.

They say they have pinpointed the gene that controls ethanol production capacity in a (more…)

Biofuels may soon be produced quickly, efficiently, and at a cost comparable to gasoline thanks to a discovery from researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The research team has identified several genes that improve yeast’s ability to digest the natural sugar xylose. This means that it will soon (more…)

Slowly but surely, an extraordinarily important new industry is slowly taking shape, with the potential to transform the global economy.

After years of existing largely as an environmentalist’s fantasy, commercial production of biofuels for the world civil aviation industry is slowly becoming a fact, (more…)

Dow Chemical is planning construction of a bioplastics plant in Brazil that the company says will produce plastic from sugarcane in volumes competitive with plastics generated from petroleum.

Later this year Dow, in a partnership with the Japanese firm Mitsui & Co., will start building a plant (more…)