Ken Reardon chosen as finalist at the Colorado Cleantech Honors (June 2011)

 

Read the original article at http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=5783

From Today at Colorado State, June 6th, 2011:

Four of Colorado State University's top scientists were honored as "research rockstars" at the inaugural Colorado Cleantech Industry Association university research awards ceremony May 26 - more than any other Colorado university.

Chuck Henry and Amy Prieto, both professors in chemistry, and W.S. Sampath and Bryan Willson, professors in mechanical engineering, received the honors at the organization’s inaugural “Celebrate Cleantech Research” event at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature.

Professor Sampath gave keynote

 

CU-Boulder received three awards; one went to the Colorado School of Mines. Sampath, co-founder of Abound Solar, also gave the keynote speech at the event.

“In recent years, Colorado State faculty have filed record invention disclosures, which has contributed significantly to the transfer of that technology to Colorado businesses,” Tim Reeser, executive director of Cenergy, the business arm of the university’s Clean Energy Supercluster that aims to bridge the gap between clean energy research and the marketplace. “We are proud of their efforts and look forward to sharing emerging innovations.”

“These faculty members represent the innovative approaches occurring in research labs at Colorado State that demonstrate how advances in basic research are leading directly to new technologies, new businesses and job creation,” said Bill Farland, vice president for Research.

Finalists were chosen from Colorado State University, the University of Colorado and the Colorado School of Mines in eight categories tied to the leading industry sectors outlined in CCIA’s 2010 “Cleantech Action Plan.” The categories are identified by CCIA as the leading cleantech sectors for Colorado.

The honorees and their categories:

Chuck Henry (Water)

Henry, an associate professor of chemistry, has been at Colorado State since 2002. He is co-founder and CEO of Advanced MicroLabs LLC, which was formed to commercialize a low-cost, rapid “lab-on-a-chip” invention that would rapidly test blood for signs of diabetes and cardiovascular disease - methods that could save patients and physicians significant time and money. To date, AML has raised more than $3 million in grant funding and is currently working to bring an innovative on-line monitoring sensor to the market in the industrial cleanwater space.

Henry is a consultant and collaborator for Legacy Biosciences, a small pharmaceutical formulations company based in Loveland and Boulder-based Crystal Diagnostics, which is developing an innovative technology to detect pathogenic bacteria in waste and recreational waters. He also works with Lumiere on developing a new technology for rapid detection of food borne pathogens. In his nine-year tenure at CSU, Henry has submitted eight invention disclosures.

Amy Prieto (Energy Storage)

Prieto joined Colorado State in 2005 as an assistant professor of chemistry. She is part of the university’s Clean Energy Supercluster commercialization arm, Cenergy. In 2009, Prieto co-founded Cenergy’s first startup company, Prieto Battery Inc., a company expected to commercialize a non-toxic battery technology up to 1,000 times more powerful and 10 times longer lasting and cheaper than traditional batteries. The development of this technology could revolutionize the transportation, communication and energy storage industries.

In March, Prieto was named the 2011 ExxonMobil Solid State Chemistry Faculty Fellow – a prestigious honor given to one scientist who is chosen each year out of a national field. The Solid State Chemistry Faculty Fellowship recognizes a young scientist who has made substantial contributions to solid-state chemistry and has the potential to emerge as a leader in the field. The award is administered by the Division of Inorganic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

 

W.S. Sampath (Solar)

Sampath and his colleagues Al Enzenroth and Kurt Barth began to investigate low-cost photovoltaic solutions - focusing on thin-film cadmium telluride technology - in Sampath’s Materials Engineering Laboratory at CSU in the early 1990s. They formed a spinoff, now called Abound Solar, in 2007 with the support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. In 2008, Abound attracted $104 million in venture capital – more than any other Colorado company that year. The company now employs more than 300 people.

Sampath now leads a $2.5 million solar research-and-development center in partnership with industry to explore next-generation solar technology funded through the National Science Foundation Industry and University Cooperative Research Program. Sampath, PPG Industries and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee also were recently awarded $3.1 million by the Department of Energy to reduce Cadmium Telluride module costs by 17 percent or under $1 per watt.

Bryan Willson (Clean Transportation)

Obama comes out swinging for advanced biofuels: Biofuels Digest (April 2011)

Read the original article at http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/03/31/obama-comes-out-swinging-for-advanced-biofuels/

From Biofuels Digest, March 31st, 2011:



 

In Washington, President Obama gave an address at Georgetown University in which he called for a goal of reducing US oil imports by one-third by 2025, with increased support for technologies that can assist in that transition, including advanced biofuels.

“We meet here at a tumultuous time for the world,” the President said, noting the situation in Japan, Libya, and Syria. “One big area of concern has been the cost and security of our energy…Families feel the pinch when they fill up their tank.  For Americans already struggling to get by, a hike in gas prices hurts.”

“But here’s the thing – we’ve been down this road before.  Remember, it was just three years ago that gas prices topped $4 a gallon…We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again.  The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out.  Even before we run out, the prices will be too high.”

And with that, the President turned to an unveiling of his clean energy policy, the Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. It’s an ambitious 44-page outline of an ambitious program, which includes investments in smart grid electric infrastructure, highways, high-speed rail, public transit, expanded oil & gas exploration, as well as  biofuels-related measures including advanced biofuels R&D, blender pumps and increased flex-fuel car purchases.

Here’s the Blueprint in full.

Here’s the text of the President’s speech, in full.

Highlights from the Blueprint

“Continuing investments in R&D will be critical to the deployment of new technology and meeting the transportation needs of Americans. Recovery Act and prior year investments are already making progress on advanced technology vehicles through research initiatives like an ARPA-E grant with the goal of developing a battery that will go 300 miles on a single charge or cost-competitive biofuels that are direct substitutes for gasoline. The FY 2012 Budget request will significantly broaden R&D investments in advanced biofuels and batteries and electric drive technologies – including an over 30% increase in support for vehicle technology R&D and a new Energy Innovation Hub devoted to improving battery energy storage for vehicles.”

“Corn ethanol is already making a significant contribution to reducing our oil dependence, but going a lot further will depend on taking promising cellulosic and advanced biofuels technologies to scale. To help advance the commercialization process, the Administration has set a goal of breaking ground on at least four commercial-scale cellulosic or advanced bio-refineries over the next two years. In addition, the President has challenged his Secretaries of Agriculture, Energy and the Navy to investigate how they can work together to speed the development of “drop-in” biofuels substitutes for diesel and jet fuel. Competitively-priced drop-in biofuels could help meet the fuel needs of the Navy, as well as the commercial aviation and shipping sectors.”

“The United States has worked with international partners to promote the benefits of sustainable modern bioenergy. In the Western Hemisphere, the United States collaborates with Brazil to help a number of countries develop bioenergy programs that promote economic development and energy security. In the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, the United States has led work to identify sustainable biofuel development practices, resource potential, and employment potential. In addition, as an active member of the Global Bioenergy Partnership, the United States worked with multiple nations and UN international organizations to develop indicators that will enable developing countries can use to ensure that are developing bioenergy in a sustainable manner.

“The FY 2012 Budget also marks a ground breaking commitment to expand transit options for Americans and return transit systems to a state of good repair. The Administration supports these commitments with the aim of making public transit systems accessible to more people, and to ensure that these systems are more reliable, efficient, and safe for the millions of travelers who use them every day. These investments will ultimately provide Americans with affordable transportation options that help reduce dependence on gasoline.”

The Digest’s Take

The headline, of course, is reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025. The speech, while highly welcome in tone and outlook, was a little short on new specifics, and sounded more like a rah-rah to build support for the 2012 Budget, showcasing existing measures in support of the 2025 goal.

However, fair to say that no President has, by a long shot, done as much to design a comprehensive national energy policy. So kudos to the White House team.

The trick though, is not figuring out what to do – there have been dozens of studies and proposals from private foundations, NGOs and pressure groups.

The trick is assembling a political coalition that gets the job done. That’s what separates an FDR from a Hoover on addressing the Great Depression, or a Kennedy/Johnson from an Eisenhower on addressing space exploration, or Reagan from Carter on ending the cold war.

We don’t yet see the grand coalition forming, but we do note the evolution of the President’s vision, since 2008, to include more emphasis on energy independence and less on carbon, more emphasis on domestic fossil fuel and nuclear production than in the past. What we begin to see is supply-side energy economics, instead of simply a reform of the means of production.

The President has embraced an American “more” over a European “better”, and “more” offers the kind of opportunities that can build support in the Congress. Of course, the President’s “more” is a “better more”, because of the emphasis on clean energy.

But in the “better” vs. “more”, equation, the President has finally figured it out. To build the economy, he better have more, no matter how much better.

Quibbles?

We are left to guess whether “we’ll help entrepreneurs break ground on four next-generation biorefineries,” refers to existing commitments, or new ones. Probably the former, kind of a double dip on publicity.

We did not see commitments from the President on mandating the manufacture of flex-fuel cars, or proposed investments in ethanol pipelines. Clearly, the President’s strategy is based around growth in advanced biofuels, particularly drop-in biofuels. He’s getting behind blender pumps, but leaving other investments in infrastructure to the private sector.

Things to admire

We are impressed by the fact that the White House “gets it” that we are not experiencing volatile oil prices — we are experiencing a real ceiling to growth, as too many economies are chasing too little oil, and economic growth pushes up energy prices too fast to sustain economic expansion.

We were impressed by the President’s goal of making the US federal government auto fleet purchasing 100 percent renewables, by 2015. It can only help spur usage and acceptance of flex-fuel cars, hybrids and plug-in electrics, and reduce dependence on imported oil.

The President clearly linked an investment in electric cars to investments in wind, solar, biomass, nuclear, and clean coal (if there really is clean coal, we’re not quite sure how clean it can get on an affordable basis, though it’s a laudable goal). Electric cars without renewable power simply change the mix of fossil fuels used for transport from petroleum to, basically, coal and nuclear – domestically produced, but not carbon darlings.

Industry reaction

Comments from the Advanced Biofuels Association, the Algal Biomass Organization, 25×25, Growth Energy, Sapphire Energy, Propel Fuels and more, here.

Ethanol industry hoping for surge - NYT (March 2011)

Read the original article at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/business/energy-environment/31ETHANOL.html?_r=2&emc=eta1
 
From the New York Times, March 30th, 2011:

Cellulosic ethanol could be poised for a surge — finally.

Around the country and especially in the Midwest, a number of proposed plants that would turn corn cobs, wheat straw and other plant-based feedstocks into fuel and sell it on the market are working to secure the last stages of financing, and some could become operational in the next few years. A smattering of smaller pilot plants are already operating, helping companies to hone the technology and economics of their product.

“With the right policies, we could unleash literally dozens of projects,” Brooke Coleman, executive director of the recently formed Advanced Ethanol Council, a coalition that includes cellulosic companies, said in an e-mail. “Companies are ready to go.”

Mr. Coleman said roughly a dozen advanced ethanol projects had all or nearly all of the pieces in place, including location, partners and financing. These are either already producing ethanol or moving ahead with plans to do so.

Another dozen or so companies also have plans, albeit somewhat less advanced. Mr. Coleman said those included large and small operations and companies that make ethanol from trash or algae, as well as from plant-based materials.

Of course, the cellulosic ethanol industry has had high hopes before. Four years ago, Congress ordered that 250 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol be produced in the United States in 2011. That would have equaled roughly 0.2 percent of the nation’s annual gasoline use, a small but measurable amount.

Instead, after companies struggled to find capital during the economic downturn, federal regulators ratcheted down the expectations. Now, only 6.6 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol must be produced this year.

New plants would push the numbers up. In January, Coskata, an Illinois-based biofuel company, announced that the Agriculture Department would award it a $250 million loan guarantee to build a plant in Alabama capable of producing 55 million gallons of ethanol a year from wood debris. Poet, an ethanol maker based in South Dakota, hopes to have a 25 million-gallon-a-year cellulosic plant under construction in Iowa by the end of this year, according to Jeff Lautt, the company’s president.

Another biofuels company, Mascoma, plans a $350 million, 40 million-gallon-a-year cellulosic plant in Michigan, and construction is expected to start this year, according to its chief executive, Bill Brady. Mascoma already operates a smaller demonstration plant in Rome, N.Y. Poet is operating one, too, in South Dakota.

The projected boom is coming at a time when rising oil prices stemming from Middle East unrest make ethanol more appealing. “It just further supports the need” for ethanol, said Mr. Lautt of Poet.

However, Mr. Coleman of the industry group noted that high oil prices might also make agricultural commodities more costly, and he said that the overall volatility of oil meant that “a short-term oil price spike is not going to suddenly result in biorefineries popping up all over the place,” so government policies are vital.

Federal help is crucial to all these plants. Both Mascoma and Poet are awaiting loan guarantees from the federal government — an essential measure, says Mr. Lautt of Poet, because these are first-of-their-kind plants. Loans will cover about half the roughly $200 million to $250 million cost of Poet’s plant, he said, and the project is also getting federal and state grants in addition to the equity Poet itself has put in.

But looming budget cuts could affect federal loan guarantees, Mr. Coleman said.

The federal government’s support for the ethanol industry has come under sharp questioning in recent years, as opposition has grown against corn ethanol — the “first generation” type of ethanol produced in this country. Environmentalists argue that growing corn to make ethanol produces too many greenhouse gases, partly relating to land-use change it causes, and also cuts into food supplies.

However, the industry rebuffs such arguments and complains that corn ethanol has been unfairly singled out for such analysis. Ethanol makers say the integration of ethanol in the nation’s gas pumps helped reduce reliance on foreign oil. It has also created infrastructure that will benefit later and more efficient types of ethanol, like cellulosic.

Right now, controversy is heating up in Congress over a 45 cents-a-gallon tax credit for blending ethanol with gasoline, known as the “volumetric ethanol excise tax credit,” which was supposed to expire in December 2010 but was extended for one year. Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is leading the charge to repeal the credit. Several ethanol industry groups — with some support from lawmakers in corn-growing places like Iowa — are trying to keep it.

The scheduled expiration is “going to force a serious conversation on how this country wants to incent ethanol,” said Mr. Coleman of the ethanol group. The current tax credit does not distinguish between corn and cellulosic ethanol, and Mr. Coleman said any reform “should and likely will contain” provisions that would specifically provide incentives for advanced ethanol.

Federal officials have used a variety of tools over the years to promote ethanol, including mandated production goals. But many of these are increasingly controversial; the latest example was an E.P.A. decision in January to allow a 15 percent blend of ethanol into vehicles at least as new as the 2001 model. Ethanol makers sought this as a way to expand their market, but automakers resisted — and whether gasoline retailers will actually carry higher blends anytime soon remains to be seen.

Partly as a result of the controversy over corn ethanol, environmentalists are approaching cellulosic companies with a skeptical eye.

Franz Matzner, the Washington-based climate and air legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that “the verdict is still out on any feedstock” and that his group was especially concerned about “the push to turn our forests into fuel.”

Mr. Brady of Mascoma, whose Michigan plant will use a mix of hardwood pulpwood (the type of low-value trees that pulp and paper companies often use), said his company was confident that it would engage in sustainable harvesting. He also noted that several pulp and paper mills would be closing in the area in coming years, which should increase the supply of wood.

Oil companies, meanwhile, are showing an interest in the new fuel. In January, the refinery giant Valero announced plans to invest up to $50 million in Mascoma’s Michigan plant. Shell has created a joint venture with Iogen, a Canadian enzyme maker; the two companies have an Ottawa demonstration plant that produces fuel from wheat straw. In June, during the oil-spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico,BP spent $98 million to acquire the cellulosic business of its biofuel partner, Verenium, including plants in Louisiana and San Diego.

When the first commercial-scale operations arrive in the coming years, prospects for cellulosic ethanol should brighten, Mr. Brady of Mascoma said.

“Once we all show the world that these plants can work and these plants can be commercially viable,” he said, “then things will really take off.”

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