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Cool Planet Announces Launch of Cool Terra™ Biochar Soil Amendment
Reduces Atmospheric CO2 and Increases Crop Yields Field trial opportunities available through the Cool Planet biochar team October 15, 2013 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Co. & AMHERST, Mass.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Cool Planet Energy Systems, a developer of small-scale bio refineries for the conversion of non-food biomass into biofuels and soil enhancing biochar, announced today the launch of their biochar soil amendment product “Cool Terra™” for commercial agricultural trials. Rick Wilson, Vice President of the Cool Planet Biochar Group, made the announcement at the 2013 US Biochar conference. Cool Planet has assembled one of the top biochar research teams in the world to develop and produce high-performance biochar soil amendments designed for specific applications. The company plans to continue expanding application opportunities with selected partners in the agricultural community leading to commercial product release in 2014. “We are excited about the opportunity to combine science with the real life practical experience of our agriculture industry partners to progress the use of biochar. This work will allow our Carbon Negative fuel technology to improve crop production while delivering environmental benefits” . “We are excited about the opportunity to combine science with the real life practical experience of our agriculture industry partners to progress the use of biochar. This work will allow our Carbon Negative fuel technology to improve crop production while delivering environmental benefits,” said Cool Planet CEO Howard Janzen. Cool Planet, a sponsor of the 2013 North American Biochar Symposium, will discuss the potential impact of the market-driven application of biochar in decarbonizing the atmosphere at the conference being held in Amherst, MA Oct 13 – 16. Cool Planet has shown yield improvements consistently averaging 60% and input reductions of 40%, combined with accelerated growth rates, in commercial field trials in California, enabling cost-effective farming in regions with structured drought such as California and Arizona. “We are already in commercial trials with our proprietary Cool Terra™ biochar soil amendment, and with this launch we plan to add new partners that will lead to large-scale commercialization,” said Rick Wilson of Cool Planet. “We are also making experimental quantities of our activated biochar available through our website.” About Cool Planet Cool Planet is deploying disruptive technology through capital efficient, small scale biorefineries, to economically convert non-food biomass into high-octane, drop-in biofuels. The process also generates value through biochar production, which can be returned to the soil, with the “Cool Terra™ product enabling fertilizer and water retention for increased crop productivity, and more robust plant health. The process can be carbon negative, removing over 100 percent of the carbon footprint for every gallon used, reversing the consequences of fossil fuels. Cool Planet’s technology has a broad portfolio of pending and granted patents. Global investors include BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy), and the Constellation division of Exelon. Connect with Cool Planet on Facebook at facebook.com/CoolPlanetEnergySystems, on Twitter at twitter.com/CoolPlanetFuels and at www.coolplanet.com. Contacts Cool Planet Energy Systems Mike Rocke, +1-940-584-0490 mr@coolplanet.com or Commercial Biochar Sales +1-888-564-9332 biochar@coolplanet.com Continue reading
World’s First Refinery Turning Farm Waste to Bioethanol Opens
CRESCENTINO, Italy, October 14, 2013 (ENS) – The world’s first commercial-scale refinery to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops has opened in northern Italy. When fully implemented, the system will provide 75 million liters of bioethanol annually for the European market. Present at the opening Wednesday were Italy’s Economic Development Minister Flavio Zanonato, local and regional officials and representatives from the European Commission, as well as more than 500 stakeholders from around the world. Beta Renewables new cullulosic ethanol plant in northern Italy (Photo courtesy Novozymes) Situated in fields outside the city of Crescentino, the plant uses wheat straw, rice straw and arundo donax, a high-yielding energy crop grown on marginal land to produce cellulosic ethanol, using enzymes to convert the plant material into fuel. The facility is the result of a collaboration between Beta Renewables, a cellulosic biofuels company based in Tortona, Italy, and Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, headquartered in Denmark. The two companies formed a strategic partnership in October 2012, making Novozymes the preferred enzyme supplier for Beta Renewables’ current and future cellulosic biofuel projects. “The advanced biofuels market presents transformational economic, environmental and social opportunities, and with the opening, we pave the way for a green revolution in the chemical sector,” said Beta Renewables Chairman and CEO Guido Ghisolfi. “We will continue to commercially expand Beta Renewables’ core technology throughout the world, and we are very confident at this stage given the demand we see around the globe.” “The opening today presents a leap forward and is truly the beginning of a new era for advanced biofuels,” said Novozymes CEO Peder Holk Nielsen. “Here, at this plant, enabled by Novozymes’ enzymatic technology, we will turn agricultural waste into millions of liters of low-emission green fuel, proving that cellulosic ethanol is no longer a distant dream. It is here, it is happening, and it is ready for large-scale commercialization.” Lignin, a polymer extracted from biomass during the ethanol production process, fuels an attached power plant, which generates enough power to meet the facility’s energy needs. Any excess green electricity will be sold to the local grid. Since 2011, more than US$200 million has been invested in research and development of the technology used to produce cellulosic ethanol at the Crescentino facility with financing from the Texas Pacific Group. Beta Rewables new biorefinery uses waste straw to make bioethanol. (Photo courtesy Novozymes) Beta Renewables says its Proesa™ engineering and production technology used with Novozymes’ Cellic® enzymes represent “the most cost-competitive advanced biofuels platform in existence today.” Proesa belongs to the so-called “second-generation” technologies which allow the use of the sugars present in lignocellulosic biomass to obtain fuel and other chemicals with lower greenhouse gas emissions and at competitive costs compared to fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. “Investors interested in cellulosic ethanol often ask when the technology will be ready at commercial scale,” said Ghisolfi. “PROESA enables customers to produce advanced biofuel at a cost-competitive price relative to conventional biofuels – at large-scale and today.” “Our complete offering makes cellulosic biofuel projects bankable and replicable,” Ghisolfi said. “With the world’s first commercial plant up and running here in northern Italy, I very much look forward to an exciting journey of establishing an entirely new, and very promising, industry.” A recent study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance concludes that transforming agricultural residues into advanced biofuels could create millions of jobs worldwide, economic growth, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and energy security by 2030. But before this can occur, Ghisolfi and Nielsen say government support is necessary to accelerate the deployment of next-generation biorefineries. “Policy makers now need to send clear signals to encourage the necessary investments in advanced biofuels,” said Nielsen. “Stable and predictable blending mandates, incentives for the collection of agricultural residues, and investment support for the first large-scale plants will help move the world substantially in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, stimulating economies, and providing energy security. Continued reliance on fossil fuels is not viable.” Italy’s government is hearing this message. Zanonato and Environment Minister Andrea Orlando responded on the facility’s opening day with a decree that promotes the creation of new biorefineries. The decree simplifies the procedures for authorizing biorefineries, with the dual purpose of promoting them in Italy and facilitating investments in the industry. “The use of this type of biofuel,” said Orlando, “is the solution to get to reach the target of 10 percent to 2020 European directive. The government is working to implement the plan, approved in recent months by the CIPE [the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning], the decarbonization of the economy and the reduction of CO2 emissions, encouraging measures to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, low-emission mobility, green chemistry and 2nd generation biofuels.” Continue reading
BlueFire Renewables Adds Pellet Production To Miss. Facility
By BlueFire Renewables Inc. | October 03, 2013 BlueFire Renewables Inc., a company focused on changing the world’s transportation fuel paradigm, has integrated a synergistic wood pellet production plant to its facility in Fulton, Miss. The reconfigured design will be a 9 million gallon per year ethanol plant integrated with a 400,000 ton per year wood pellet plant. The pellets will be sold under long term contracts into the European mandated renewable energy market. “This restructure provides a more robust economic model for the Fulton facility with a significant increase in projected revenues. It has become apparent in our attempts to obtain financing for the project that the right synergies and revenue model would be needed to build this first of a kind facility,” said Arnold Klann, president and CEO of BlueFire. “The optimum use of biomass in the integrated facility strikes a much better balance of revenue with costs and a better utilization of resources. The more profitable use of capital and the enhanced security of projected revenue streams more closely match what the banks have been requiring in the very conservative and restricted credit markets.” Traditionally wood pellets are used for electricity generation and can be sold under long-term, fixed-price contracts to credit worthy utilities thereby adding financial stability to the project. Blended with lignin from BlueFire’s process, the wood pellets create a market advantage under the international mandates for renewable energy, especially for power in the European Union. BlueFire has previously announced start of construction and has completed the preliminary site work for the ethanol facility. The engineering and other development activities needed are already under way to add the pellet plant. Synergistic partners will be announced once the definitive agreements are signed. Continue reading
