The Future Should Be Bright for Coal-to-Liquids
You are at a cocktail party somewhere, and, after joining a random group of revelers, you utter the following words: “If I say alternative fuel, what’s the very first thing that comes to mind…don’t even think about it, just answer!��? If this fiesta was taking place last night, 9 folks out of 10 would have answered “ethanol��?. The remaining 10% would have probably made-up a mix-bag of “biodiesel��?, “hydrogen��?, and, in extremely rare cases, “synthetic fuels��?, also known as synfuels. Ten years from now, I bet you anything that far more than 10% of the general public will be...
The Best Peak Oil Investments, Part IV: Gas-, Biomass-, and Coal-to-Liquids
Tom Konrad CFA There are many proposed solutions to the liquid fuels scarcity caused be stagnating (and eventually falling) oil supplies combined with growing demand in emerging economies. Some will be good investments, others won't. Here is where I'm putting my money, and why. This fourth part takes a look at the possibility of converting coal, natural gas or Biomass into gasoline or diesel we can use in unmodified vehicles. In the first three parts of this series, I looked at various substitutes for oil based transportation fuels: Biofuels and Biochemicals Vehicle Electrification...
Milestone for Gas-to-Liquids Fuel Plant
Syntroleum Corp (SYNM) commemorated the successful production of more than 140,000 gallons of ultra-clean fuels at its gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuels plant at Port of Catoosa, Oklahoma. The plant also manufactured 60,000 gallons of additional products, such as syncrude. Gathered to mark the occasion were representatives from Syntroleum, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Marathon Oil Company and Integrated Concepts and Research Corporation (ICRC).
Conversions To Renewable Diesel
by Helena Tavares Kennedy
The seasons are changing in many parts of the world right now, but what really is changing this autumn is how the world is looking at renewable diesel. Phillips 66 and REG’s announcement about a new renewable diesel plant on the U.S. West Coast planned for 2021 comes after a notable increase in refineries that are being converted and changed over to renewable diesel. Change is good, especially in this case.
As Bob Dylan sang, “For the loser now, Will be later to win, For the times they are a-changin’.” And who knew he was singing about the RFS...
Linc Energy: Making Synthetic Crude From Coal Downunderground
by Debra Fiakas CFA Gas-to-liquids is back on my radar screen after an article appearing in early March 2015 on Biofuels Digest described progress Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) has made in perfecting the Fischer-Tropsch process to convert carbon-based feedstock to liquid fuel, otherwise called Gas-to-Liquids. Fischer-Tropsch often referred to as FT for short is a series of chemical reactions to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons. The reactions are triggered by a catalyst, usually cobalt or iron, and managed under high temperatures in a chamber or reactor. Some might consider it a neat trick...
Rentech’s Wood Saw Hits a Knot
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week Rentech, Inc. (RTK: NYSE) revealed plans to idle its wood pellet production facility in Wawa, Ontario Canada. To operate efficiently the plant requires additional repairs and upgrades beyond the replacement of conveyors that was completed in Fall 2016. Beside the fact that the additional repairs were not included in the regular capital budget, Rentech management has apparently determined the expenditure is not economic given profits from Wawa. When Rentech reports financial results for the fourth quarter ending December 2016, shareholders will be treated to an asset impairment charge for the Wawa facility....
Velocys Thinking Big with Microreactors
by Debra Fiakas CFA Keep the applause down! Contain your enthusiasm for yet another biomass- or gas-to-liquids company. Over the past several weeks I have written about a number of privately-held developers of one technology or another intended to produce a drop-in renewable fuel from biomass or natural gas. There are more, In this post we check in on Velocys (VCL: London), which stands out from the rest as a public company. No matter that it's technology looks like that of the very next renewable fuel company, it is accessible to minority investors. Until recently Velocys was...
The Return of Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane
For several years now we have seen a significant number of players pivoting from biofuels towards smaller but higher-value markets in chemicals, nutrition, nutraceuticals, pharma, materials, flavorings, fragrances, cosmetics and more. We’ve reported on the proliferation of applications both in the Digest and in What’s Nuu? and indeed there’s been so much that’s Nuu, it’s been dizzying at times with all the spinning and twirling.
Capital costs and policy uncertainty have played their part, but the foot on the pedal for many has been oil prices. The scale of operations to compete with oil prices in the 2014-2017 period...
War With Iran? Buy Alternative Energy Stocks.
September is starting out as the month of speculation about a massive three day air strike on Iran. Is Bush ready to attack Iran while our troops are still trying to stabilize both Afghanistan and Iraq? In February, administration officials were denying it. The preparations now going on could simply be the stick part of a negotiating strategy; the bad cop to Russia's good cop. But Bush's chances of successful cooperation with Putin could be better. What if? If Bush does launch a massive three day air strike on Iran, what will that mean for alternative energy stocks? I...
Biofuels Rocking The Boats (and Ships)
Companies that rock the boat often end up leading the way for others. While some companies have paved the way for road transportation and others reached high in the sky for aviation, there are some big boats out there that are also looking for alternative renewable fuels. Here are some companies that are answering the call for the maritime and shipping sectors with viable biofuel alternatives, the technologies and innovations, the rough waves that still lie ahead, and how they can reach that destination on the horizon.
Gevo and Butanol
We start with Gevo (GEVO) and their butanol. Why butanol? It...
List of Synthetic Fuel and Drop-in Biofuel Stocks
Synthetic fuel stocks are publicly traded companies creating transportation fuel from non-liquid feedstocks such as natural gas, coal, and municipal waste. Drop-in biofuel stocks are publicly traded companies creating transportation fuel from organic feedstock that can be used, transported, and stored by conventional petrofuel infrastructure. A synthetic fuel is a biofuel if it is made from organic feedstock. It is a drop-in fuel if it is compatible with the existing infrastructure for petroleum based fuels.
Amyris (AMRS)
BioAmber (BIOA)
Codexis (CDXS)
Darling Ingredients (DAR)
Gevo (GEVO)
Global Bioenergies (ALGBE.NX)
Neste, Inc. (NEF.F, NESTE.HE, NTOIF, NTOIY)
N-Viro International Corp. (NVIC)
Renewable Energy Group (REGI)
Sasol Ltd. (SSL)
Velocys, PLC (VLS.L)
If you know of any synthetic fuel or...
REG Enters Renewable Diesel With Syntroleum Purchase
Jim Lane In Oklahoma, and Iowa, Renewable Energy Group (REG; NASD:REGI) announced that it would acquire substantially all of the assets of Syntroleum Corporation (NASD:SYNM), and assume substantially all of the material liabilities of Syntroleum, for 3,796,000 shares of REG common stock worth $40.08 million at today’s market close. The purchase price subject to reduction in the event that the aggregate market value of the REG common stock to be issued would exceed $49 million or if the cash transferred to REG is less than $3.2 million). “This will help us grow our advanced biofuel business, enhance our intellectual...
The Best Peak Oil Investments, Part VI: Barriers to Substitution
Tom Konrad CFA There are two types of solution to the liquid fuels scarcity caused by stagnating (and eventually falling) oil supplies combined with growing demand in emerging economies. The most obvious is to find a substitute to replace oil. These substitute have barriers to their use as a replacment petroleum based fuel. Understanding those barriers also leads us to the investment opportunities that arise from these substitutes. As I wrote the first five parts of this series, looking into potential substitutes for gasoline and diesel, it was clear that many potential substitutes would need...
Rentech After Fischer-Tropsch
by Debra Fiakas CFA A long article appearing in early March 2014 on Biofuels Digest about Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) gave me pause. The article has since been removed from the site but it was an interesting primer on Oklahoma-based EFT’s use of the Fischer-Tropsch process to convert carbon-based feedstock to liquid fuel, otherwise called Gas-to-Liquids. While Emerging Fuels Technology has been listed in Crystal Equity Research’s Alternative Chemicals Group of the Beach Boys Index of companies trying to harness energy from the sun through biomas, I must admit the company had not been taken seriously. ...
Aviation Biofuels: The Year of the Tree
by Jim Lane
When the world’s leaders for sustainable aviation fuels have a general meeting the week before the COP24 global climate sessions (this year in Poland), you can bet that the focus will be breaking the “You Can Have Two out of Three Conundrum” of aviation fuels. Which is to say: affordable, available at scale, and sustainable, pick any two of the three.
Fossil fuels are (usually) affordable and always available at scale. Sustainable jet fuels that are available at scale have generally not been affordable to date, and affordable sustainable fuels have been mostly explored at bench scale, so...
Velocys: A Key To Advanced Biofuels At Scale
Jim Lane Four new technologies approach scaled operations, all with one element in common – Velocys (VLS.L) technology on the back-end. Why Velocys, why now? The Digest investigates. In Oklahoma, Southeast Oregon, Eastern Ohio, and a site near London we’re about to see the commercial-scale debut of Velocys technology, a smaller scale gas-to-liquids processing technology that converts natural gas or biomass into premium liquid products, such as diesel and jet fuel. In this case, specifically designed for smaller scales, resulting in standardized modular plants that are economic, easier to ship and faster to install, at lower risk,...