ethanol

SunEthanol seeks funding for fuel-making bug

SunEthanol, a development-stage cellulosic ethanol company, is looking to raise $20 million in venture funding and is bringing in a new CEO.

The University of Massachusetts spin-off is planning on announcing a CEO who will join the company from DuPont on Tuesday, said Jef Sharp, the current president and CEO who will stay on with the company. Sharp said he will likely be chief marketing officer and has brought on a new CEO to speed up product development.

In addition, SunEthanol is in the process of raising a second round of funding to ramp up its operations. It currently has … Read more

Biofuels and food prices: Running the numbers

Clean-energy research firm New Energy Finance has waded into the "food versus fuel" debate and finds that oil is a bigger factor in rising food prices than biofuels.

New Energy Finance, which will release its report Tuesday, also finds that changing food patterns around the world, growing population, and rising input costs, such as fertilizers, are contributing to upward pressure on food prices.

Biofuels production, too, is contributing to food price inflation, but New Energy Finance said that is "far from the dominant factor." It found that areas where biofuel productions have had a significant impact … Read more

Khosla: Setting the story straight

This guest post is from venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, writing a rebuttal to pointed accusations flung at him from the Wall Street Journal in an editorial titled "Khosla's Conspiracy." He wants to set the story straight on where he stands with biofuels, government subsidies, and their link to the global food crisis.

To my surprise, this morning I found myself cited by the Wall Street Journal as a strong advocate of subsidies for food-based ethanol, and as a recipient of "federal dole" who ought to "take a vow of embarrassed silence." While I … Read more

Is ethanol lowering prices at the pump for consumers?

Despite providing the largest portion of alternative fuel in the US, corn ethanol gets a lot of flack in the circles Cleantech Blog runs in. The usual culprits go something like this: Corn ethanol is heavily subsidized (yes it is). Corn ethanol does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions (sort of, it really, really depends on your assumptions). Corn ethanol contributes to the fertilizer driven "deadzone" in the Gulf of Mexico (maybe, another complicated topic). Corn ethanol drives up the price of food (a topic for another day).

But the main argument for supporting corn ethanol production has always … Read more

For $9,995, your car could run on sugar and tequila

NEW YORK--"Henry Ford had it right all along," E-Fuel founder and CEO Thomas Quinn declared, referring to the fact that many original Model T Ford automobiles ran on the ethanol, not gasoline. But that was before the era of Prohibition, which banned production of the biofuel along with other forms of alcohol.

Now, he hopes ethanol can have a real revival.

In a press event at Revel, a Meatpacking District restaurant that features a greenhouse-like roof and trees growing inside, Quinn and his fellow executives unveiled the EFuel100 MicroFueler. It looks like a cross between a gas … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: Rising oil prices, ethanol plant cancellations, grease bandits

Here is a sampling of green-tech and energy news over the past few days:

Goldman's Murti says oil 'likely' to reach $150 to $200 -- Bloomberg Oil is now at about $120. Will $200 drive more investment in clean tech?

Grease bandits strike as biofuel demand rises -- The Christian Science Monitor Grease thieves are driving up behind Burger Kings to steal material to make biodiesel. Says a cop: we see it all the time now.

Poet cancels ethanol plant -- Greentech Media The gold rush mentality in ethanol seems to be fading fast. Poet cancels a planned Minnesota … Read more

Marathon Oil, GM invest in ethanol maker Mascoma

In a step toward maturing the cellulosic ethanol business, Mascoma officially announced on Tuesday $61 million in third-round funding, which includes participation from Marathon Oil and General Motors.

Marathon Oil, a gas and oil refiner, will put $10 million into Mascoma to help construct a plant and to further develop the company's proprietary microbe that streamlines the process of turning wood chips or agricultural waste into ethanol.

GM's decision to invest in Mascoma--the second cellulosic ethanol company with which it has partnered--was disclosed last week. GM's amount, however, is under wraps.

As previously reported, Mascoma's … Read more

Range Fuels expands funding to speed cellulosic-ethanol production

When it comes to next-generation biofuels, it's a competition for both technology and capital.

Range Fuels expanded its previously announced series B funding from $100 million to $166 million, according to reports. Private Equity Hub on Monday cited a regulatory filing, saying Morgan Stanley Capital Group joined the round. VentureBeat reported the expansion last week.

The money will be used to build the first phase of its ethanol plant in Soperton, Ga., which will use forestry waste as a feedstock. The plan is to complete a 20 million gallon-per-year plant next year that uses a gasification process.

There's … Read more

GM spreads bets with investment in second ethanol start-up

General Motors is opening its pocketbook to get ethanol to the pumps and into its cars.

The auto giant on Thursday announced a partnership and an undisclosed investment in cellulosic-ethanol company Mascoma. The Cambridge, Mass.-based start-up is developing a biochemical approach to converting wood chips and agricultural wastes into ethanol.

It's GM's second investment in a cellulosic ethanol company. Earlier this year, it formed a partnership and took a stake in Coskata, which will be testing its fuel at GM facilities.

For GM, the investments are part of its strategy to prime the pump for ethanol that … Read more