One of the big contributors to rising food prices over the past year has been the cost of getting food from the field to the grocer. Truck drivers across Europe and especially in the UK have been protesting increasing fuel costs for months. The U.S. Department of Energy is partnering with the Swedish government and one of the largest manufacturers of heavy trucks - the Volvo group - to find ways to reduce the fuel consumption of those trucks. The two governments and Volvo have already previously committed $12 million to the joint development program and this week announced an additional $36 million dollars. The two governments will each contribute $9 million of the new funds with the rest coming from Volvo. The goal is to reduce fuel consumption of the truck engines by 10 percent. The program will evaluate biofuels in heavy truck engines as well as develop advanced transmissions, new engines and hybrid drive systems.

[Source: Department of Energy]

If you're doing research into enzymes for cellulosic ethanol production the US Department of Energy wants you. They have published a funding opportunity with up to $33.8 million available. The money is for work on commercializing enzymes for use in breaking down cellulosic feed-stocks into simple sugars. Those can then be processed into ethanol. The goal is to make cellulosic ethanol production cost competitive by 2012. The money is being made available on a fifty percent cost sharing basis and individual projects are eligible for amounts ranging from $5-15 million dollars.

[Source: Department of Energy]

The Department of Energy has awarded a three deal to United Solar Ovonic to share costs and cooperate on low-cost photovoltaic solar systems that can be integrated into building construction. The biggest flaw of photovoltaics right now is cost vs efficiency ratio. Because of the cost of such systems, it takes most people a long time to save enough on energy costs to cover the expense. United Solar Ovonic will get $4.6 million in government funding during the first year. If the project milestones are met by Ovonic, the DOE will provide almost $15 million in extra funds over the following two years.

The project is part of the DOE's Solar America Initiative (SAI) which is intended to reduce the cost of both components and installation of solar systems with a target of $.10-.15/kWh. United Solar Ovonic currently produces a line of lightweight, flexible solar systems under the UNI-SOLAR brand.

[Source: United Solar Ovonic]

You have probably seen a few kits to convert your car to run on ethanol. They are not legal. In fact, there probably won't ever be a kit you can just buy to do the conversion yourself. There are kits that will be used by companies that do the conversion. These companies are seeking certification to convert cars to run on ethanol.

As of August 14, 2007, no company was certified by the EPA to convert cars to run on ethanol in the United States. I contacted the EPA and asked how many companies applied. The EPA only says there is "a number" of applications. In a recent bulletin, the Depart of Energy says there are "a few" companies seeking certification. Go below the fold to see a correction to this article.

[Source: DOE]

The US Department of Energy will be providing funding to a partnership comprised of Ricardo, Bosch and the University of Michigan for research on an optimized flex-fuel engine (see related post). The team will start with an existing gasoline optimized engine that is turbocharged and direct injected. After characterizing the engine, Bosch and U of M will focus on developing quick accurate means of measuring the ethanol content in the fuel blend.

The partners will then work at using all the available performance parameters that can be adjusted to optimize the combustion performance when running on ethanol blends in order to try and match the fuel efficiency when running on gasoline.

A turbocharged engine is a good place to start since the boost can be adjusted to take advantage of the higher octane rating to ethanol compared to gas. Companies like Saab have already shown clearly that a turbocharged flex-fuel engine can achieve better performance on ethanol that overcomes the lower energy density. Now they just have to get the mileage.

[Source: Ricardo]

The Department of Energy is giving out another $375 million to three biofuel research facilities for work on cellulosic ethanol and other fuels. The three facilities in Madison Wisconsin; Berkeley, California and Oak Ridge, Tennessee are doing basic research using genomics to modify biological processes. The goal is to make cellulosic ethanol cost competitive with gas by 2012.

The three research centers will coordinate work being done at eighteen universities, seven DOE labs, one non-profit and several private companies. With the three centers being geographically separate they will each work with different crops that can be used as feedstocks.

[Source: Department of Energy]

Corn based bioethanol refineries have been popping up all over the United States over the past couple of years. This in turn has led to a spike in corn prices as more corn is being diverted from food and animal feed to fuel production which has led to criticism of the promotion of ethanol as a fuel. Even the Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell has acknowledged that corn will not remain a factor in fuel production in the future. As progress is made in processing cellulosic biomass like wood chips, grasses and corn stalks. Sell feels that cellulosic ethanol and bio-butanol will take over from current corn-based ethanol over the next 5-10 years as enzyme and bacteria based processing methods move into commercial applications. Currently those fuels are more expensive than existing processes, but they have the potential for much higher yields and the costs will likely drop by a factor of ten as new processes come on stream.

[Source: Reuters]

The U.S. Department of Energy has dug into its coffers once again for alternative energy research, this time putting up to $385 million forward to fund six cellulosic ethanol over the next four years. DOE Secretary Samuel W. Bodman made the announcement, going on to say that when fully operational, the six biorefineries will produce more than 130 million gallons / 492 million litres of ethanol per year. The funding is part of President Bush's Twenty in Ten Initiative which aims to reduce America's petrol consumption by 20 percent in ten years.

"These biorefineries will play a critical role in helping to bring cellulosic ethanol to market, and teaching us how we can produce it in a more cost effective manner," Secretary Bodman said. "Ultimately, success in producing inexpensive cellulosic ethanol could be a key to eliminating our nation's addiction to oil. By relying on American ingenuity and on American farmers for fuel, we will enhance our nation's energy and economic security."

Cellulosic ethanol is seen by the current administration as the best way to achieve their goal of increasing the use of renewable and alternative fuels in the transportation sector by 35 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2017. Industry will have to more than match the DOE's contributions leading to a total of more than $1.2 billion that will be invested in these six biorefineries.

The following six projects were selected from the many proposals:

• Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, LLC of Chesterfield, Missouri, up to $76 million.
• ALICO, Inc. of LaBelle, Florida, up to $33 million.
• BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. of Irvine, California, up to $40 million.
• Broin Companies of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, up to $80 million.
• Iogen Biorefinery Partners, LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, up to $80 million.
• Range Fuels (formerly Kergy Inc.) of Broomfield, Colorado, up to $76 million.

Analysis: What a great way to spend federal funds! I really think the DOE is on the right track with their funding of alternative energy production and research such as into cellulosic ethanol, next-generation batteries and hydrogen. Not only will a huge amount be learnt about cellulosic ethanol by building and running these six facilities, but they will produce valuable fuel and earn back their grants over time.

For the record, anyone who voted in our last poll - Best way to spend the DOE's money - for anything but cellulosic ethanol, well, I'm afraid you and I were both clearly wrong.

Related:

• The Department of Energy has $17 million for battery and ethanol research
• The Department of Energy has over $19 million on hand to fund hydrogen research
• Department of Energy wants to put bacteria to work

[Source: Department of Energy]

About 40 years ago, Iowa State Chemistry professor John Verkade based his doctoral dissertation on a chemical compound, and only realized a few years ago that it may very well hold the key to breaking down the cellulose that forms the structure of a plant's cell walls.

The way the story goes is that Verkade had initially thought someone was joking around by repeatedly stealing a wooden stick from one of his beakers. Soon he realized that the stick wasn't being stolen by a prankster. It was being broken down by the compound it was sitting in. At the time he marked it up as an interesting observation and asked the university to consider a patent application, but the request was denied. Of course, this was well before the notion of cellulosic ethanol production was on the national radar.

It was George Kraus, a colleague of Verkade, who planted the seed in Verkade's head by suggesting that the compound could be used to break down the cellulose walls inside plants opening the door for cellulosic ethanol production. Verkade in turn sought funding and received a $125,000 grant from the Energy Department via the Midwest Consortium for Biobased Products and Bioenergy.

The initial results of his research were discouraging until they began treating the feedstock with equal amounts of the chemical compound and water. So far, they have been able to break down 85 to 95 percent of the cellulose. Currently, Verkade and Reed Oshel, an Iowa State graduate student, are working to develop a cheaper version of the compound.

[Source: Physorg.com]

It looks like national laboratories are expending a lot of effort on developing various aspects of new energy sources. After the Argonne lab announcement of a new material for fuel production facilities, the Department of Energy has given $4.5 million to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its partners. Oak Ridge is developing nitrided metallic bipolar plates for use in automotive fuel cells. This award is a follow-up to a previous development deal to demonstrate the potential of material.

The new metallic plates are preferred by car-makers over the current carbon composite plates, probably for cost reasons. Current metal plates, have problems with corrosion which limits their life-span. The new process that's being developed actually changes the surface chemistry of the plates, to make them more durable rather than depositing a coating. The development program will last two years.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

There are over 300,000 flex-fuel cars in California, yet just one E85 fueling station. Doesn't make much sense, does it? Moving to address the imbalance, the Department of Energy has granted funding to a group that includes CALSTART, GM, Pacific Ethanol and United Oil among others to begin the construction of an ethanol infrastructure in the Golden State.

The press release doesn't reveal how much funding is available, however, the initial round will pay for a portion of the construction of ten E85 pumps at existing gas stations owned by United Oil in the Los Angeles area. Four more pumps will be installed along Highway 101 from Ventura to San Luis Obispo while the last will be installed in San Joaquin Valley.

Fuel for the pumps will be produced in California by Pacific Ethanol whose headquarters are located in Madera, CA. There are currently three ethanol plants in the state with four more on the way. By the end of 2008, California's ethanol production is projected to reach 400 million gallons per year which should provide enough ethanol to meet demand from the new E85 pumps.

Getting a foothold in California is a smart move for almost any aspect of the auto industry as the state contains 10 percent of the nation's vehicles. We'll certainly be keeping a close watch to see just how the ethanol network pans out in a coastal state.

[Source: CALSTART]

On Tuesday, while speaking to the Council on Competitiveness and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Energy Department Secretary Samuel Bodman announced that $100 million has been awarded to 25 fuel cell research and development projects. Bodman said, "We expect hydrogen to play an integral role in our energy portfolio and we are eager to see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road in the near future."

The funding is set to be paid over four years, 2007 to 2010, and the selected organizations include 3M, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, UTC Power, Argonne National Laboratory, Plug Power, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Connecticut and Clemson University. The breakdown of funding by topic is as follows:

• Fuel cell membranes - $21.2M
• Water transport within the stack - $17.9M
• Advanced cathode catalysts - $31.6M
• Bipolar plates - $6.8M
  
• Seals - $2.0M
• Stack design - $2.8M
• Balance of plant - $1.0M
• Effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability - $7.5M
• Stationary fuel cell demonstration projects (to help foster international and intergovernmental partnerships - $9.8M
  

To see a complete breakdown by organization, click here.

The press release makes sure to mention that the funding works to advance President Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative which seeks to "make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of Americans to choose to purchase fuel cell vehicles by 2020."

[Source: Fuel Cell Works]

News and developments on Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) technology doesn't seem to pop up very often, so you can imagine that our ears perk up every time we come across something new no matter how small. On Wednesday, technology development firm TIAX announced that it was awarded a $400,000 contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop sensor technology that will help to control the start of combustion, one of HCCI's major technical hurdles. TIAX is listed as the prime contractor, but will work with researchers at Wayne State University who have a plethora of experience in engine diagnostics and control.

It isn't ground-breaking news, but it's good to know that research and developments are continuing as HCCI technology may one day combine the best of diesel and conventional spark-ignition engines into a single low-emission, high-mileage power plant.

Related:

• HCCI: Combining gasoline and diesel combustion
• HCCI update: Prototype in 2008

[Source: TIAX]

Here's a lesson in legislation over-estimating reality. In 1992, Congress passed an aggressive energy bill requiring that 30 percent of the fuel powering U.S. cars come from sources other than gasoline. Sounds great, but the problem is that we're no where near meeting that deadline. Due to a recent environmental group lawsuit, the Department of Energy was required to develop a revised goal. Last Tuesday, the DOE proposed that goal be pushed back 20 years and be set at 2030.

According to DOE figures, alternative fuels currently represent 2.5 percent of the country's annual fuel consumption, a figure, the department says, that has remained nearly stagnant over the last 10 years.

In 2010, U.S. oil demand is expected to be over 12 million barrels per day, 30 percent of which would be about 3.7 million barrels.

[Correction: Tom pointed out a factual error that we'd like to correct. In 2010, U.S. oil gasoline demand is expected to be over 12 million barrels per day. U.S. oil demand will be much higher.]

If we were to rest our hopes solely on ethanol to fill the gap, the predicted numbers come up staggeringly short. The Renewable Fuels Association says that current U.S. production capacity for ethanol is only at 313,000 barrels a day. New plants seem to pop up every week, but, national ethanol production won't come close to account for the shortcoming any time soon. The DOE estimates that even if all the corn currently grown by American farmers were converted to ethanol, it would provide just 1.17 million barrels a day, far short of the total expected 3.7 million barrel per day requirement.

There's lots more after the jump.