Gevo and South Hampton Resources to Build Hydrocarbon Processing Demonstration Plant

Gevo, Inc. today announced it plans to work with South Hampton Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Arabian American Development Co., to build a hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant at their facility just outside of Houston in Silsbee, Texas. This demonstration plant is expected to process up to 10,000 gallons of Gevo’s isobutanol per month into a variety of renewable hydrocarbon materials including jet fuel for engine testing, isooctane for gasoline, isooctene and paraxylene for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and will supply other potential customers with material for product qualification and evaluation. The demonstration plant is slated for completion before the end of 2011. The contract between the companies is for two years with one-year extensions thereafter.

“This demonstration plant allows us to complete the value chain from isobutanol to renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemical intermediates which is one of our key strategic objectives,” said Patrick Gruber, Ph.D., CEO of Gevo. “With the operation of this plant, Gevo intends to demonstrate its fully integrated biorefinery -- going from renewable carbohydrates all the way to fungible hydrocarbon materials used across the refining and petrochemical industries. We expect this plant to showcase the value of our renewable hydrocarbons and drive future customer demand.”

“We have a growing list of potential customers and end-users interested in renewable hydrocarbons for a variety of market applications from jet fuel to renewable PET,” said Christopher Ryan, Ph.D., president and COO of Gevo. “This plant should allow us to supply early adopters with product so they can test our material, make samples and start their selling cycle. We also expect to gain critical technical and market insights along the way.”

South Hampton Resources, Inc. has agreed to provide Gevo with toll-manufacturing services at its Silsbee, TX facility and complete the final design and engineering package for the demonstration plant from preliminary plans supplied by Gevo. Gevo will own all the intellectual property that results from the work including the plans, designs and systems developed for the demonstration plant and future commercial-scale plants.

Joule Awarded Patents for High-Volume Ethanol Production from Sunlight and CO2

Joule Unlimited Technologies today announced the issuance of its first two U.S. patents covering its fundamental method for producing ethanol at volumes and efficiencies far surpassing biomass-dependent processes.

The patents relate to methods for increasing the ethanol production capability of a photosynthetic microorganism. Unlike competing technologies that utilize microorganisms to produce ethanol by fermenting sugars from cellulose or other biomass materials, Joule's platform microorganism is engineered to produce and secrete ethanol in a continuous process, converting more than 90% of the CO₂ it consumes directly to end product, with no reliance on biomass feedstocks.

U.S. Patent #7,981,647 and U.S. Patent #7,968,321, granted on July 19th and June 28th respectively, cover enzymatic mechanisms engineered into the cell by Joule to maximize its ethanol productivity. These innovations, together with Joule's advances in bioprocessing and solar capture and conversion, will help Joule achieve an ultimate target of 25,000 gallons per acre annually – a rate that is 10X greater than that of cellulosic ethanol and 100X greater than corn ethanol – while requiring no depletion of food crops, agricultural land or fresh water. In addition, by eliminating the need for biomass, Joule avoids the burden of fluctuating feedstock cost and supply, as well as the energy-intensive, multi-step conversion of biomass to product. At full-scale commercial production Joule expects to produce ethanol for as little as $0.60/gallon.

"The market for ethanol is strong and growing internationally, and our patented technology affords Joule an incredible opportunity to meet growing demand at productivities well beyond biomass-based approaches," said Bill Sims, President and CEO of Joule. "Rather than focus on incremental improvements along the supply chain, we have proven that a direct, continuous process from photons to fuel is the answer to highly-efficient, cost-competitive production that can scale without today’s feedstock constraints."

Joule is now producing ethanol at pilot scale, and has achieved nearly 50% of its ultimate productivity target in the lab. The company today holds a total of six U.S. patents and more than 70 applications pending, derived from four years of development across biology, processes and systems.

Petroleum Demand Up For First Six Months Of 2011

Total petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) rose in June compared with May and with June a year ago and were up 1.9 percent for the first six months of 2011 over the same period in 2010.  Gasoline demand was nearly flat compared with June a year ago, but up from both April 2011 and May 2011.  Ultra-low sulfur diesel demand continued to register strong numbers over 2010, achieving a record high.

“The growth in overall demand is consistent with the nation’s modest but steady economic expansion,” said API chief economist John Felmy.  “Gasoline demand essentially treaded water while demand for ultra-low sulfur diesel continued its year-over-year increase.  Gasoline demand appears to still be held back by high unemployment and consumer uncertainty.  On the other hand, the robust ultra-low sulfur diesel demand numbers suggest U.S. manufacturing is picking up the pace.”

U.S. refinery gasoline production was at a record high for the month and for the year.  For the month of June, distillate production was at a three-year high while jet fuel production was at a six-year high. Strong refinery production has reduced the need for petroleum product imports, which declined more than 30 percent in June compared with June a year ago.  Crude imports declined 4.8 percent, and total imports fell 10 percent

Crude oil production fell to a two-year low and showed year-over-year declines for the second month in a row.  At 5.4 million barrels a day, crude oil production was down by 2.0 percent from June 2010.  For the second quarter, crude production was down by 0.1 percent.  The preliminary reported data to API on offshore oil wells drilled show an 82.0 percent decline in the second quarter of this year compared with last.  Despite the offshore drilling decline, API estimates onshore oil well completions, which include wells drilled on private as well as public lands, were at the highest second quarter level since 1985.

Crude stocks (excluding SPR) fell by 2.9 percent from the prior month and 1.5 percent from the prior year, but were still at the second highest stock level for any June since 1990, not counting 2010.  With the exception of jet fuel stocks and residual fuel stocks, all key refined products’ stock levels showed declines in June compared with May.

Source : API

POET receives offer for a conditional commitment for $105 million cellulosic ethanol loan guarantee

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $105 million loan guarantee to support the development of the nation's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Project LIBERTY, sponsored by POET, LLC, will produce up to 25 million gallons of ethanol per year and will be located in Emmetsburg, Iowa. POET estimates the project will generate approximately 200 jobs during construction and 40 permanent jobs at the plant. POET estimates the project will also bring approximately $14 million in new revenue to area farmers.

"This project will help decrease our dependence on oil, create jobs and aid our transition to clean, renewable energy that is produced here at home," said Secretary Chu. "The innovations used in this project are another example of how we are seizing the opportunity to create new economic opportunities to win the clean energy future."

POET CEO Jeff Broin said he's excited POET is about to achieve its goal of bringing new renewable fuel technology to commercial scale.

"Financing has been one of the biggest challenges to scaling up cellulosic ethanol and the offer for a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee from DOE's Loan Programs Office brings us one step closer to commercial production," Broin said. "We are pleased DOE has offered to support the development of cellulosic ethanol."

"Cellulosic ethanol holds tremendous promise for America," Broin continued. "There is more than one billion tons of biomass available each year that could be used to make enough cellulosic ethanol to completely displace oil imports. Today's announcement brings us closer to making that promise into a reality."

Unlike many conventional corn ethanol plants, Project LIBERTY will use corncobs, leaves and husks – sources provided by local farmers – that do not compete with feed grains. The project's innovative process uses enzymatic hydrolysis to convert waste into ethanol and will produce enough biogas to power both Project LIBERTY and POET's adjacent grain-based ethanol plant. Project LIBERTY will displace over 13.5 million gallons of gasoline annually and fulfill more than 25 percent of the projected 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard Requirement for biomass-based cellulosic ethanol. POET plans to replicate their unique process at 27 of their other corn ethanol facilities, which would have a projected combined annual capacity of one billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol. The company estimates that 85 percent of Project LIBERTY will be sourced with U.S. content.

AE Biofuels Announces Acquisition of Industrial Biotechnology Company Zymetis

AE Biofuels, Inc. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Zymetis, Inc., a Maryland-based industrial biotechnology company that develops products for the renewable chemicals and advanced fuels industries. Zymetis, Inc. will continue as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AE Biofuels.

Zymetis holds four granted patents and more than ten pending patents on the Z-microbe™, a marine organism that was originally discovered consuming plant cellulose at a high rate in the Chesapeake Bay. The genome of the Z-microbe has been fully sequenced by researchers at the University of Maryland. Zymetis’ scientists discovered that the Z-microbe naturally generates about 90 enzymes that rapidly convert sugar, starch, and cellulose into useable chemicals and fuels.

By using the genetics of plants and microbes that naturally produce specialty chemicals, the Z-microbe has been converted to produce renewable chemicals and advanced fuels from renewable feedstocks.

“Zymetis’ technology has already demonstrated the production of high-value chemicals to supply multi-billion-dollar global markets, but we lacked a commercialization platform,” said Dr. Steve Hutcheson, founder of Zymetis and a 25-year genetic biology professor at the University of Maryland. “AE Biofuels has demonstrated operational global management capability, constructed and operated advanced biofuels plants, and has already achieved success in creating and adopting new technology through the conversion of first-generation biofuels facilities.”

“The combination of AE Biofuels and Zymetis enables the launch of new specialty chemical and renewable fuels products at an accelerated rate compared to the normal product development and construction cycle of three years or more,” said Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of AE Biofuels, Inc. “The technical and chemicals business development team at Zymetis joins almost 100 global employees at AE Biofuels who currently operate 105 million gallons per year of biofuels plant capacity in the United States and India,” McAfee added.

The technical team of Zymetis will join AE Biofuels in similar roles, and Zymetis founder Dr. Steve Hutcheson will join the board of directors of AE Biofuels.

AE Biofuels issued 6,673,555 common shares to Zymetis shareholders in the transaction, with 766,000 of the shares vesting over a three-year period.