Supermajors take another look at ethanol
Traditionally, oil companies have shown little interest in ethanol, but according to a story in today’s New York Times that seems to be changing. The change is in part due to a federal mandate for fuels to include increasing amounts of “advanced biofuels,” those not made from food sources.
Verenium Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. has joined forces with BP to test its methods for converting non-maize biomass into ethanol. Verenium brings its proprietary technology to the partnership, while BP supplies chemical engineering know-how and capital. Shell and Chevron, among others, are also working on biofuels programs.
According to Arnold Klann of BlueFire Ethanol, “There is tremendous interest by the oil companies to invest in these first-of-a-kind projects. Where they were initially investing very tentatively in new technology development, in the last year they have begun to finally invest in companies that are building commercial production facilities.”
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