Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 

Meeting U.S. Fuel Standards

Authors

Mary Solecki, E2

Anisa Dougherty, Goldman School of Public Policy

Bob Epstein, E2

111 Sutter Street, 20th Floor San Francisco, California 94014 www.e2.org
Table of Contents

I. Introduction 3

Content & Process 4

II. Advanced Biofuel Industry Overview 4

Measuring Production Capacity: Methodology 5

Active Companies 5

2012 Fuel Capacity 5

2015 Fuel Capacity 6

Meeting LCFS and RFS2 Goals 7

Biofuel Value Chain 8

Aviation 9

New Fuel Pathways 9

Production Costs 9

III. International Market 10

IV. Financing 10

Private Equity Investment 10

Initial Public Offerings 11

Federal and Public Funding 11

V. Jobs 12

Methodology 12

Comparing E2 Estimates to Literature Review 12

VI. Market Factors for Industry Growth 13

RFS2 13

Military 14

LCFS 15

National LCFS 16

Off-take Agreements 16

State Policies and Tax Incentives 16

VII. Conclusions 18

Acknowledgements 19

Appendix A: Advanced Biodiesel Facilities 20

Appendix B: Advanced Biofuel Facilities by 2015 (Low-End) 23

Appendix C: Advanced Biofuel Companies & Projections (High-End) 27

Appendix D: List of Federal & Public Funding 33

Appendix E: Biofuel Value Chain 35

Appendix F: Job Data (2012-2015) 39

Appendix G: International Companies 40

Appendix H: E2 Methodology to develop lists and production data 42

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 2

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a non-partisan national community of 850 business people who believe in protecting the 

environment while building economic prosperity. Our mission is to provide a platform for an independent business voice to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth. E2 represents entrepreneurs, investors and professionals from every sector of the economy. We 

work at both the state and national levels through bipartisan efforts.
I. Introduction

Advanced biofuels are renewable, liquid transportation 

fuels that can replace traditional gasoline and diesel with 

significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

With more certainty of the policies discussed in this 

report, these fuels could be produced at scale and 

compete on a cost basis.

 

In the year since E2’s 2011 Advanced Biofuel Market Report1 the industry made significant advances in the production of fuels. U.S. and Canadian production capacity 

expanded from 437 million gallons in 2011 to over 685 

million gallons in 2012. We identified 165 companies active in the production of advanced biofuels along with 82 

companies involved in the supply chain by providing 

necessary feedstock, technology, and infrastructure.

Our purpose in producing these annual reports is to 

compare industry production growth to the future demand for low carbon fuels created by U.S. policies like 

the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), California’s Low 

Box 1: Biofuel Definitions

There are a variety of terms used to classify biofuels. For the 

purposes of this report E2 has grouped biofuels into the following categories: 

Conventional Biofuels. Also called first generation biofuels, 

encompass starch based ethanol as well as oil crop based 

biodiesel. Conventional biofuels often reduce carbon intensity 

(CI) by 5-30% from a gasoline baseline. Corn, wheat, sugar, 

soybean and palm oil are commonly used as feedstock and 

production is at commercial scale. Feedstocks used for conventional biofuels often displace agricultural production and have a 

higher CI than more advanced biofuels. Conventional biofuels 

are not addressed in this report. 

Advanced Biofuels. Also called second and third generation 

biofuels, encompass biofuels produced from non-corn starch, 

sugar, or lignocellulosic biomass, which reduces CI by 50% or 

more from a gasoline baseline. This includes cellulosic ethanol, 

non-virgin oil based biodiesel and bio-synthetic gas. Conversion 

technologies for advanced biofuels have greater feedstock flexibility and product neutrality than conventional processes. Woody 

biomass, Brazilian sugar cane and algae are commonly used 

feedstock.

Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), federal funding programs, 

tax incentives, and more. While this report looks at many 

policies and programs, E2 has special interest in the 

LCFS for its ability to spur innovation, fuel neutrality, and 

its sustainability standards that minimize conflicts with 

food production. The LCFS requires that, by 2020, 

blenders, refineries, importers and distributors of transportation fuels reduce the carbon intensity (CI) of the fuels they sell by ten percent below a 2010 gasoline and 

diesel baseline. 

The advanced biofuels industry has sufficient, proven 

technology to meet the LCFS requirements, and with 

sufficient market certainty, can meet the overall RFS2 

targets. The risks for delivering fuel are regulatory certainty and production capacity. We use two methods to 

examine future production capacity. Method one documents the status of production facilities within the U.S. 

and Canada. Method two collects forecasts from active 

companies delivered through publicly available sources. 

Wherever possible, we verify the forecast via direct contact with the company. If we cannot verify the forecast or 

if we have reason to doubt the accuracy of the forecast, 

then we assume no production will occur. Method one 

shows a low-end total domestic production capacity of 

1.6 billion gallons by 2015. Method two shows a highend capacity of about 2.6 billion gallons by 2015. 

The barriers to meeting the LCFS and RFS2 goals continue to be the ability to finance plants to reach commercial scale production and maintaining regulatory certainty 

for both standards. In the last year, there was a temporary stay of implementation to the LCFS enforcement 

brought about by an ongoing lawsuit as well as increased 

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1 http://www.e2.org/jsp/controller?docName=BiofuelMktReport2011

Virent’s biogasoline facility 

in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Photo credit Virent.
political pressure on changing RFS2. Despite these challenges, we are encouraged by industry progress in the 

last 12 months and conclude that the fuel standards are 

achievable.

Content & Process

This report expands upon E2’s initial Advanced Biofuel 

Market Report, published in August 2011. It is intended 

to give a broad overview of the status, potential and critical challenges facing the advanced biofuel market today. 

The core of this report is North American production data 

for the 2012-2015 period, which we contrast with data 

collected for our initial report. This is followed by an 

overview of related industries, international markets, financial trends, and recent policy measures. 

This report was developed with the help of a broad selection of experts in the biofuel industry, research institutions and government agencies. The production data 

was collected through an extensive survey of publicly 

available information as well as interviews with key market players. An initial draft of the Advanced Biofuel Market Report was circulated among participating industry 

experts for review prior to publication.

II. Advanced Biofuel Industry Overview

This report specifically looks at advanced biofuels in an 

effort to highlight their potential as a key component in 

the energy mix. As defined by the RFS2, advanced biofuels reduce carbon intensity (CI) by 50% or more from a 

gasoline baseline. E2’s research indicates that a fuel capable of achieving the 50% threshold is usually capable 

of further reductions on the levels of 75% or greater. 

As detailed in section six, key policies such as the RSF2 

and LCFS have helped to move advanced biofuels from 

a demonstration into a commercialization phase, as 

shown in Figure 1 below.2 A growing number of advanced biofuel companies are being certified under diesel’s standard, ASTM, which certifies fuels for blending3

and approved for RFS2 renewable identification numbers 

(RIN),4 allowing trading credits for reduction in CI value. 

As technical barriers decrease, the main challenges that 

remain are attracting capital and regulatory certainty. 

Despite the potential as a viable alternative to traditional 

fuels, advanced biofuels faced significant challenges in 

2012. Federal funding programs are under increased fiscal pressure, the RFS2 and LCFS are being challenged 

and the Department of Defense’s clean energy initiatives 

are being called into question, as discussed in section 

six. The multitude of challenging factors cast an atmosphere of doubt over the marketplace. However, a close 

inspection of production levels indicates that the advanced biofuel market has grown despite these challenges. While this growth is slower than we anticipated in 

2011, the market is moving toward greater commercial 

production of many advanced biofuels.

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2 Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Crossing the Valley of Death. June 2010. Web. https://www.bnef.com/WhitePapers/download/29

3 Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative presentation, Advanced Biofuel Leadership Conference, Washington DC, 4 April 2012.

4 KiOR. "KiOR Receives Fuel Registration From EPA for Renewable Gasoline." Press release. 24 July 2012. 

<http://www.kior.com/content/article.php?Atricle=22&s=2&s2=35&p=35&t=News-and-Events>.

KiOR’s Columbus, Mississippi 

facility. Photo 

credit KiOR.

Figure 1: Stages of technology 

development; adapted from 

Bloomberg New Energy Finance. 

Advanced biofuels are crossing 

from Stage 3 to Stage 4, Diffusion 

and Commercialization.
Measuring Production Capacity: Methodology

E2 developed two methods for measuring production 

capacity for 2012 and 2015. 

Method One: Low-End

Low-end estimates were based on facilities that have 

substantive evidence of construction through associated 

financing, site selection, feedstock procurement, and 

more. Facilities listed on E2’s low-end have a very high 

probability of success. Some companies have declined 

to give specific completion dates, but due to significant 

financial backing the facilities will likely be operational by 

2015. 

Method Two: High-End

High-end estimates are based on publicly delivered projections by the companies themselves and represent capacity that could be achieved if regulatory certainty gave 

sufficient market certainty. Starting with company projections, E2 used company funding status, demonstration of 

technology, partnerships and more to establish feasible 

numbers. When we could not sufficiently verify projections, we conservatively assumed they would be zero.

In contrast to the EPA, which monitors actual production, 

E2 data solely reflects capacity. To find capacity we have 

counted pilot and demonstration facilities even though 

this fuel is not actively traded in the fuel mix, and thus 

not tracked by EPA. The distinction between capacity 

and production is relevant for facilities that come online 

mid-year. It is not possible for these facilities to reach full 

calendar year production capacity, and thus the EPA discounts production numbers. 5

Active Companies

As noted in last year’s report, the companies active in 

this emerging industry continue to evolve. This year E2 

identified 165 active advanced biofuel producers in the 

United States and Canada. This number includes companies pursuing renewable jet fuel, as well as companies 

that are not currently in production but have plans to begin production by 2015. Of these, there are 91 biodiesel 

companies already in commercial production and 74 

companies working to produce other types of advanced 

biofuels. The breakdown of the companies is in Table 1.

Non-virgin oil based biodiesel achieves the 50% or 

greater CI reduction threshold,6 and is the first advanced 

biofuel in commercial production. Feedstock sources 

primarily come from waste/recycled oil, grease, and tallow. Of the hundreds of facilities across the United 

States, E2 has only counted facilities which can use nonvirgin oil and have registered with the RFS2, as listed in 

Appendix A. The additional filter for RFS2 registered facilities makes the number of E2-tracked biodiesel companies appear artificially smaller than last year.

For all other fuel types, there are 12 fewer companies 

listed this year. Most of these reductions are mergers & 

acquisitions, which is likely the start of normal market 

consolidation that will continue for the next few years. As 

some companies and technologies begin to integrate 

and scale, the technology winners are becoming more 

obvious.

2012 Fuel Capacity

In 2012, the production capacity of advanced biofuels 

will reach 685-689 million gallons, as shown in Table 1. 

These are facilities that already exist, or are under construction and scheduled for operation by end of year. The 

marginal difference between the low and high-end production numbers is due to pilot facilities, which were not 

included in the low-end scenario.

For 2011 E2 reported 437 million gallons of production 

capability, which can most directly be compared with this 

year’s high-end data. The year over year increase is primarily due to advanced biodiesel, which has increased 

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5 United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards.” Vol 77, No 5. 9 August 2012. 

<http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-09/pdf/2011-33451.pdf>.

6 California Air Resources Board. Carbon Intensity Approved Pathways. Table. Web. <http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/121409lcfs_lutables.pdf>.

Gevo’s Luverne, 

Minnesota facility. 

Photo credit Ken 

Drobish of Gevo.
production by about 200 million gallons to meet RFS2 

targets.7 An additional 40 million gallons is attributed to 

several facilities coming online, including Gevo, INEOs, 

KiOR, and many demonstration facilities.

2015 Fuel Capacity

Based on our two methodologies, the advanced biofuel 

industry will have between 1.6 and 2.6 billion gallons of 

production capacity in the U.S. by 2015. This is summarized in Table 1, and detailed in Appendices B and C.

Method One: Low-End

To meet our low-end estimate of 1.6 billion gallons, we 

expect a minimum of 27 new or retrofitted commercial 

facilities to come online by 2015, in addition to existing 

biodiesel facilities. The new facilities will produce about 

700 million gallons of fuel, of which cellulosic ethanol will 

comprise the lion’s share. As companies have cited time 

and again that the RFS2 is the industry’s market maker, 

the cellulosic biofuel requirement for RFS2 can be credited with these facilities’ creation. Table 2 shows the 

breakdown of the 27 new facilities by fuel type, and Table 

3 shows the year over year projections of these facilities. 

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7 Kruse, John. “Biodiesel Production Prospects for the Next Decade.” IHS Global Insight Report. Report provided via email to Mary Solecki. Available via web 

at <http://www.ihs.com/products/cera/multi-client-studies/unconventional-frontier.aspx>.

Box 2: Types of Advanced Biofuels

Advanced Diesel. Also called renewable diesel, a 

hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD). Made by 

hydroprocessing of vegetable oils, algal oils, or animal 

fats. As a liquid hydrocarbon, has very similar chemical 

properties to petroleum diesel and may be blended at very 

high ratios.

Advanced Gasoline. Advanced gasoline may be refined 

instead of advanced diesel from a biocrude. A liquid hydrocarbon that has similar chemical properties to petroleum gasoline.

Biodiesel. A fatty acid mono-alkyl ester derived from 

vegetable oils, animal fats or other renewable oils. Biodiesel is commercially available.

Biocrude. Biocrude is oil processed from biomass, and 

may be refined into advanced diesel, jet fuel or advanced 

gasoline.

Butanol. Similar properties to gasoline allow butanol 

blending in any proportion. Higher energy content and 

lower octane content than ethanol, and has been demonstrated to work, without modifications, in gasoline vehicles.

Ethanol. This report covers ethanol from cellulosic material, as this achieves a 50% reduction in carbon intensity. 

Most commonly produced from biomass through hydrolysis, fermentation, or gasification to a syngas which can be 

modified into ethanol.

Jet Fuel. A liquid hydrocarbon suitable for use in airplanes, refined from a biocrude and renewable feedstocks.

Table 2: New commercial facilities coming online by 

2015. This does not include the advanced biodiesel 

plants already in existence.

Commercial facilities by 2015

By Fuel Type

Cellulosic Ethanol 16

Advanced Diesel 5

Advanced Gasoline 2

Jet Fuel 1

Biocrude 1

Butanol 2

Total 27

Advanced Biofuel Capacity 

In millions of gallons/year

# Companies 2012 Capacity 2015 Capacity

LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH

Jet Fuel 1 6 0.1 0.1 23.1 150.0

Biodiesel 91 91 564.0 564.0 877.0 877.0

Butanol 1 4 19.0 19.5 56.0 370.5

Ethanol 24 35 14.2 14.2 337.2 512.2

Adv. Diesel 5 9 75.1 75.4 248.4 300.8

Adv. Gasoline 4 7 2.4 3.0 52.4 113.0

Fuel flexible 1 11 11.0 13.3 11.0 312.6

Biocrude 2 2 0 0 1.1 1.1

TOTAL 129 165 685.8 689.6 1,606.2 2,637.2

Table 1: Low-end and high-end production estimates for 2012 and 2015 

by fuel type. “Fuel flexible” denotes companies that have not yet designated production type and may produce advanced gasoline or diesel.
The percentage of growth predictably decreases over 

time in the low-end projections. We can be more certain 

about projects with more immediate deadlines, but facilities with 2015 schedules understandably may have additional details to sort, and therefore are typically under the 

high-end projections. 

Method Two: High-End

The high-end production projections listed by advanced 

biofuel companies, for which E2 sees reasonable feasibility of occurring, totals 2.6 billion gallons of capacity by 

2015. 

This method can be most directly compared to last year’s 

report, which totaled 3.1 billion gallons. As mentioned 

previously, this method could also be described as the 

number that could be achieved if the correct policy signals were in place. The reduction of 500 million gallons 

between last year’s and this year’s reports is attributable 

to the uncertainty cast over the market by policy instability, and matches what has been reported in the press 

about companies struggling to access financing in order 

to scale up. Policy instability pushes biorefinery construction schedules further out, makes access to capital 

more difficult, and directly affects the bottom line with 

changing RIN values. Section six of this report will further 

discuss these policies, the implications, and the significant role market certainty has in the scale up of advanced biofuels. 

Biodiesel numbers are the same for both methods. As 

the advanced biodiesel market is already available in 

commercial quantities, future availability is significantly 

more predictable. E2 used the data National Biodiesel 

Board provided to the EPA from IHS Global, which 

looked at how much biodiesel may be produced to meet 

RFS2 targets without raising market prices. Using the 

proposed RFS2 targets, E2 subtracted virgin oil biodiesel 

production and advanced renewable diesel to find 877 

million gallons of advanced biodiesel by 2015.

Meeting LCFS and RFS2 Goals

LCFS. California uses about 18 billion gallons of liquid 

transportation fuel per year. Assuming demand remains 

constant, 600 million gallons are needed in California to 

meet the LCFS in 2015 exclusively through advanced 

biofuels - if fuel achieves a 75% reduction (which most of 

these fuels likely will, according to E2’s analysis). Since 

the 1.6 to 2.6 billion gallons are well above what is 

needed to meet the LCFS, credit prices only need to be 

high enough to attract these fuels to California’s market.

RFS2. For the RFS2, 5.5 billion gallons of advanced fuels 

are needed in 2015, of which biodiesel (which already 

has the capacity) will likely fill 1.9 billion.8 This leaves 3.6 

billion gallons of cellulosic and “other” advanced fuel. 

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8 Kruse, John. “Biodiesel Production Prospects for the Next Decade.” IHS Global Insight Report. Report provided via email to Mary Solecki. Available via web 

at <http://www.ihs.com/products/cera/multi-client-studies/unconventional-frontier.aspx>.

BP Biofuels has been proving its advanced biofuels technology 

at its large-scale demonstration facility at Jennings, Louisiana 

for the past two years. Photo credit BP Biofuels.

Table 3: Low-end production capacity estimates show that we 

are phasing out of the demonstration phase and moving into the 

commercial production phase.

New facilities coming online 2012 - 2015

Capacity In millions of gallons/year

2012 2013 2014 2015

Total Capacity 121.78 410.88 636.35 729.25

Increase Year Over Year -- 237% 55% 15%

Average Capacity for 

Commercial Plants 

Coming Online 7.98 35.82 23.63 25.20

Demos Coming Online 6 1 2

Commercial Facilities 

Coming Online 5 8 8 5

Total Commercial 

Facilities 6 14 22 27

INEOs Bio’s Vero 

Beach, Florida 

facility, August 

2012. Photo 

credit INEOs Bio.
These numbers indicate a continued shortage for the 

cellulosic sub-target, and therefore more sub-target adjustment to meet overall goals. For example, EPA may 

soon count aviation fuels toward an increased biomassbased diesel mandate. If aviation and renewable diesel 

fuels bring up biomass-based diesel to 2.5 billion, then 

cellulosic could fall to 1.1 billion (in line with E2 high-end 

numbers), and “other“ advanced could increase to 1.9 

billion. As described in following sections, this 1.9 billion 

could be met with new fuel pathways in addition to the 

existing fuels for this category. 1.1 billion gallons of cellulosic capacity is an optimistic number based on company projections, but EPA retains the authority to lower 

this target as needed. U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis of the RFS2 targets shows continued 

shortages through 2022, but sufficient supply by 2035.9 If 

development continues at a slow pace, still other fuel 

pathways and technologies may come online to meet the 

overall advanced biofuel goals.

Biofuel Value Chain 

A well developed value chain is essential to support expanding biofuel markets. Figure 2 illustrates the multiple 

steps involved in the production and distribution of advanced biofuels. 

While an in depth review of the value chain is beyond the 

scope of this report, E2 aims to demonstrate that related 

industries are growing in tandem with production. Appendix E provides a brief list of key companies, showing 

a robust value chain that can support a growing biofuel 

market. 

Although multiple industries are involved in the value 

chain, the most critical elements are: 

Feedstock. Feedstock availability could constrain future 

production, making feedstock providers an essential link 

in the value chain. This industry consists of waste management companies, algae producers, biomass owners 

and agricultural commodity traders. Weyerhaeuser and 

PowerStock are examples of biomass owners. Agricultural commodity traders, such as Bunge, are also increasingly active in advanced biofuels. 

Technology & Process Development. This encompasses plant genomics companies as well as those involved in developing conversion and process technologies. Technology from enzyme developers, such as Novozymes and Dupont, as well as plant genomic companies, such as Mendel and Syngenta, are increasingly utilized at commercial scale facilities.

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9 Energy Information Administration. Annual Energy Outlook 2012. Page 97. Accessed 19 July at: http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383(2012).pdf

Figure 2: Biofuel Value Chain

There are many components to 

advanced biofuel production; 

this report focuses on companies that convert processed 

biomass into fuels.

ZeaChem’s Boardman, Oregon facility. 

Photo credit ZeaChem, Inc.
Engineering & Equipment. This link in the value chain 

includes companies that provide the engineering platforms and equipment necessary to operate a biofuel 

plant. E2 has identified several key providers, such as 

Biodico and Chemtex that are working with existing facilities. 

Distribution. Energy companies, such as oil producers, 

refiners and distributors will need to provide the infrastructure necessary to distribute biofuels. Leading energy 

companies, such as Shell, Chevron, Exxon and BP are all 

investing in advanced biofuels. Other companies such as 

Propel are focusing on renewable fuel terminals.

Aviation

Jet fuels are not usually traded under the RFS2 or LCFS. 

EPA is finalizing its rule to consider aviation fuels as 

biomass-based diesel for trading under the RFS2 if produced from fats, oils or greases. The development of 

these fuels is further proof of market capabilities and 

fungibility, and the capital access provided through major 

airlines and other groups will bolster facility construction.

Boeing, and now the aviation industry, has set a target of 

1% biocontent of worldwide aviation fuels by 2015, 

which equates to roughly 600 MG globally. Given facility 

projections, the airline industry feels confident that this 

target will be reached.10 Since a facility can co-produce 

renewable jet fuel and other renewable hydrocarbons, 

this provides greater evidence for the future market capabilities of advanced biofuels.

New Fuel Pathways

EPA and CARB are both currently reviewing new fuel 

pathways to generate credits under their respective trading mechanisms. Approval of these pathways will provide 

greater amounts of fuels that may be used to meet the 

targets of the RFS2 and LCFS. For example, the EPA is 

currently reviewing ethanol from grain sorghum. If approved, this could add several hundred million gallons of 

fuel for the “other” advanced biofuel mandate, given the 

number of applications EPA has received.11

Production Costs

Production costs are sensitive to a variety of factors, 

such as feedstock, process, capital costs and local conditions that fluctuate by year. Moreover, technological 

advances are being made on a yearly basis making costs 

difficult to extrapolate. For these reasons, advanced biofuel production costs have typically only been announced in Initial Public Offerings, or estimated by fedE2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

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10 Boeing Commercial Fuels Division. Interview by Mary Solecki. 31 July 2012.

11 Burkholder, Dallas. EPA. Interview with Mary Solecki. 25 July 2012.

ADVANCED BIOFUEL PRODUCTION COSTS 

(Gasoline: Equivalency Gallons, Diesel: Unit Gallons)

Company 2011 $/

gallon Year Fuel Type Feedstock Conversion Technology

Aliphajet $0.75 2017 Diesel, Jet, Gasoline Oils, Fats Boxcar

Fulcrum $1.30 2014 Ethanol MSW Gasification

Joule $0.60 2013 Ethanol, Diesel (cost 

with subsidies)

sunlight Photosynthetic microorganisms

Kior $1.80 2012 Renewable Gasoline, 

Diesel

Woody 

Biomass

Pyrolysis

POET $3.00 2013 Cellulosic Ethanol Cellulosic Biochemical

Solazyme $3.44 2015 Crude Oil Sugars Microalgae

Study 2011 $/

gallon Year Fuel Type Feedstock Conversion Technology

DOE MYPP $2.51 2012 Cellulosic Ethanol Corn stover Biochemical

DOE MYPP $2.02 2012 Cellulosic Ethanol Woody Gasification

DOE MYPP $2.01 2012 Cellulosic Ethanol Corn stover Biochemical

DOE MYPP $2.44 2017 Gasoline, Diesel Wood Pyrolysis

NAS $4.66 2015 Gasoline Cellulose Low Temp Gasification

NAS $5.21 2015 Gasoline Cellulose High Temp Gasification

EPA $2.24 2022 Diesel Biomass Thermochemical

EPA $4.92 2022 Biodiesel Algae Microalgae

Table 4: Estimated production costs, as 

reported by biofuel producers range 

between $0.75 and $5.21 per gallon for 

advanced biofuels. 

Sources: 

NAS (2011), Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of US 

Biofuel Policy. The National Academies Press, 

Washington, DC. 

DOE, Office of the Biomass Program (OBP), 

Multi-Year Program Plan, April 2011. OBP, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Washington, DC, 2011.

U.S. EPA RFS2 Regulatory Impact Assessment, 

2010
eral research. Although data points are limited, Table 4 

provides a snapshot of production costs as reported by 

active companies and by recent studies.

III. International Market

More than 50 developed and developing countries have 

adopted blending targets, requirements and/or biofuel 

quotas 12 which has helped to rapidly expand global demand for biofuels. Recent market forecasts suggest that 

the global market for all biofuels could increase from 

$82.7 billion in 2011 to $185.3 billion by 2021.13 Of this, 

cellulosic ethanol market has the potential to reach 40 

billion gallons per year by 2022, worth US$80 billion.14

While the vast majority of advanced biofuel facilities reside in North America and the European Union, an evergrowing number of advanced biofuel plants are cropping 

up outside of these regions. Brazil, an established leader 

in conventional biofuels, is emerging as an industry 

leader in advanced biofuels as well and is working to increase its capacity. Other countries, such as India and 

China are also working to expand their nascent biofuel 

industry in hopes of addressing climate change and energy security issues. As these countries rapidly expand, 

the use of sustainability criteria to source biofuel production is critical to protect food, water, and biodiversity.

E2 has tracked companies with facilities of significant 

interest to the domestic market, given the technologies 

used, partnerships, or the companies’ announced intentions to expand into the U.S. in coming years. These facilities are listed in Appendix G. While the fuel produced 

in these facilities may or may not be imported into the 

United States, these companies could provide increased 

access to capital through partnerships or strategic investments, in addition to constructing domestic facilities 

of their own. 

IV. Financing

Pike Research calculates that the U.S. market for biofuels will be about $60 billion in 2021.15 To seize this market opportunity, venture capitalists and strategic investors continue to invest in advanced biofuels.

Since 2007, Cleantech Group has tracked more than 

$3.4 billion in domestic low carbon fuel investments. 

Since E2’s 2011 report, an additional $651 million has 

been invested. Some historic numbers may look different 

than the 2011 report, which reflects the release of information ex post facto, and the decision to include investments into companies which may no longer be active.

Private Equity Investment

Figure 3 shows venture capital investments into biofuels 

by quarter. In Appendices B and C, private investments 

are broken down by company, with debt financing information noted when available. 

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12 IEA, Biofuels Roadmap, 2011 Available at: http://www.iea.org/papers/2011/biofuels_roadmap.pdf

13 Pike Research, “Biofuel Markets and Technologies” December 2011

14 Clean Edge. “Clean Energy Trends 2012.” 11th ed. July 2012 <http://http://www.cleanedge.com/reports/clean-energy-trends-2012>.

15 Pike Research, “Biofuel Markets and Technologies” December 2011

Box 3: Ensuring Sustainability

Biofuels have the potential to address many problems related to 

fossil fuels, including cutting carbon pollution, so long as they are 

produced sustainably by incorporating critical environmental and 

social safeguards. Sustainability criteria seek to reduce risks to 

food security, wildlife, land, water and air resources, thereby helping advanced biofuels achieve scales by setting parameters that 

can realistically support growth with minimal consequences and 

controversy. Third party tools exist to help biofuel producers assess and validate their sustainability. Credible certification systems 

such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuel can help producers verify that their product comes from a supply chain that delivers on its environmental promise and avoids significant unintended 

consequences.

A rendering of Joule’s Hobbs, New Mexico facility; currently under construction. Picture credit Joule Unlimited.
Interviews with venture capitalists confirm that corporate 

investors are more active, as companies are seeking 

large amounts of capital to begin scaling. Contrasting 

industry financing figures of $5-10/gallon of installed capacity against Table 3 on page 7 shows nearly $7.3 billion in capital needs (using $10/gallon). Given the policy 

uncertainty biofuels are facing, many small venture capitalists have re-coiled. Many in biofuels are looking to the 

multi-national oil companies, in hopes that increased 

strategic investments made by these companies will provide the biofuel industry with the capital access it needs.

Major oil companies have shown interest in biocrude and 

modification options to existing biorefineries, as these 

options leverage existing refinery equipment with lowered capital expenditures and operating expenditures.

Initial Public Offerings

Last year E2 reported on the four major IPOs to date 

(Amyris, KiOR, Gevo, Solazyme). Since that time, both 

REG and Ceres have successfully completed IPOs, at 

$72 million and $65 million respectively. An additional 

seven IPOs within the biofuel value chain currently wait 

for approval.16

Public offerings are one way to access capital needed for 

a first commercial facility. However, companies may lose 

significant value if going public before stabilizing profits 

and allowing their technology to be evaluated in dollar 

terms. For this reason, Enerkem and Coskata have delayed their IPOs and chosen to pursue financing through 

other means.

Federal and Public Funding

Government agencies have been relatively quiet about 

the investments made into advanced biofuels. These investments, from agencies like the Departments of Energy 

(DOE) and Agriculture (USDA), are already realizing their 

potential through increased rural farming jobs, biofuel 

production jobs, and domestic sources of clean energy. 

Federal and state grants and loan guarantees have provided the pivotal capital biofuel companies need to build 

first-of-kind facilities. 

Cleantech Group has compiled the list of federal loans 

and grants contained in Appendix D, which totals $1.77 

billion since 2008. As noted on the list of facilities, these 

can frequently be directly traced to an outcome of facility 

construction. Of the $1.77 billion, roughly $730 million is 

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Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11

16 Biofuels Digest, 13 July 2012. Available at: 

http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2012/07/13/are-ipos-good-for-early-stage-companies-and-advanced-biofuels/

Figure 3: Venture capital 

investments in advanced 

biofuels by quarter; detailed in Appendices B 

and C. Blue bar represents millions invested, 

while green line shows the 

number of deals within 

that quarter.

Data provided by Cleantech Group.

$138%%

$46%%

$73%%

$145%%

$338%%

$284%%

$101%% $107%%

$134%%

$82%%

$28%%

$37%%

$224%%

$300%%

$175%%

$157%%

$256%%

$205%%

$342%%

$138%%

$171%%

9% 9%

10%

13%

11%

10%

4%

7%

5%

7%

5% 5%

10%

11%

5%

8%

10%

8%

13%

4%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

$0%%

$50%%

$100%%

$150%%

$200%%

$250%%

$300%%

$350%%

$400%%

Q1% Q2% Q3% Q4% Q1% Q2% Q3% Q4% Q1% Q2% Q3% Q4% Q1% Q2% Q3% Q4% Q1% Q2% Q3% Q4% Q1%

2007% 2008% 2009% 2010% 2011% 2012%

Number'of'Deals'

Millions'

ADVANCED'BIOFUEL'VENTURE AND'PRIVATE'INVESTMENT
from the DOE, and $967 million from USDA. The remaining $73 million comes from sources like the California 

Energy Commission, Federal Aviation Agency, and other 

agencies. These programs provide advanced biofuels 

with the development stage assistance needed to later 

compete with petroleum counterparts on a cost basis.

V. Jobs 

While E2 expects the advanced biofuel industry to have a 

substantial economic impact at national and local levels 

these impacts are difficult to predict. A very limited 

number of economic impact assessments have been 

conducted on the advanced biofuel industry. Furthermore, those that have been conducted show significant 

variation in their job creation estimates. 

To provide reliable estimates E2 looked at jobs that 

would be created directly through the construction and 

operation of commercial plants, excluding data on pilot 

and demonstration plants. Of the 27 commercial facilities 

that are scheduled to come online by 2015, 24 reported 

permanent operation job estimates, 12 reported peak 

construction job estimates, and 7 provided indirect job 

estimates. These are listed in Appendix F. Using this 

data, E2 looked at job estimates on a per gallon basis. 

On a per gallon basis, a million gallons of production capacity generates 2.24 permanent jobs, 10.29 construction jobs, and nearly 15 indirect jobs. As reported by 

companies, indirect jobs include feedstock production. 

Multiplying these averages against E2’s low and high end 

production scenarios for commercial facilities only, E2 

found that on the low-end, about 1,518 direct, 6,965 

construction and 9,924 indirect jobs could be created. 

On the high-end, 3,939 direct, 18,076 construction 

and 25,755 indirect jobs could be created. This means 

that commercial facilities could create 18,407 to 47,770 

jobs in total over the next three years (Table 5). Both 

direct and indirect jobs are permanent positions. Biofuel 

producers report that fuel production jobs will be fulltime skilled and unskilled positions, starting around $30-

40,000 per year.

It is important to note that while these estimates provide 

a reliable jumping off point, total job creation related to 

advanced biofuel production will be far greater. These 

estimates do not include permanent and temporary jobs 

created in related industries, such as technology, equipment manufacturing, or transportation. Nor does it account for PhD level research and development jobs, 

which according to a 2009 report by BioEnergy could 

reach 12,100 by 2022.17 

Finally, while R&D jobs may change as the market matures, corporate jobs in management and marketing also 

provide desirable employment opportunities, which are 

not counted here. Although E2 sees wide variation between companies - with some employing anywhere from 

17 (Fulcrum) to 446 (Abengoa) core employees - the corporate jobs that are created will be long term and high 

paying. 

Methodology

To estimate potential job creation, E2 looked at job estimates in press releases for commercial facilities that are 

schedule to come online by 2015. E2 did not account for 

jobs created by demonstration and pilot facilities as the 

industry seems to be moving away from the introductory 

growth phase. 

Comparing E2 Estimates to Literature Review

Below is a contrast of E2’s results with available literature. Operation job studies that include feedstock and 

delivery jobs have significantly higher estimates than 

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12

17 Bio Economic Research Associates: “US Economic Impact of Advanced Biofuels 

Production: Perspectives to 2030”. February 2009. <http://www.cleantechsandiego.org/reports/EconomicImpactAdvancedBiofuels.pdf>

Predicting Job Creation Using Jobs/Million Gallon 

(Low & High End)

Capacity Direct Construction Indirect

Reported 643.49 1,443 4,408 2,564

Per MG 2.24 10.29 14.66

Total (low) 676.95 1,518.03 6,965.61 9,924.52

Total (high) 1,756.78 3,939.50 18,076.67 25,755.45

Table 5. Direct, indirect and construction jobs from 

the 27 new facilities coming online by 2015.
those without. However, E2’s results are within the range 

provided by studies that exclude feedstock and delivery 

jobs and only look at operating jobs (Table 6). 

E2’s results for construction jobs per million gallons were 

also within the range provided by available literature for 

construction jobs, as shown in Table 7 below.18

VI. Market Factors for Industry Growth

Stability

Cited in the 2011 report as one of the greatest market 

hurdles, marketplace certainty continues to be the biggest challenge voiced by advanced biofuel producers. 

Volatile oil prices create a moving target for price competitiveness. Government influence and support through 

policies and funding programs can create the baseline 

stability that biofuels and its investors require to scale. 

Financing will follow, but stability must lead the way.

While policies may be enhanced or augmented, especially with the integration of sustainability standards for 

sourcing, this may be done without fundamentally 

changing the nature of a given program. The continued 

support of the programs described next can result in biofuels reaching E2’s high-end capacity numbers in 2015 

and beyond.

RFS2

The U.S. government’s first major effort at marketplace 

certainty came in the form of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under the Bush Administration. The RFS 

came in response to concerns of dependence on foreign 

oil, climate change, and an interest in supporting rural 

economies. This standard has become the most important biofuel policy in the nation, and as testament of its 

effectiveness, many of the biorefineries coming online in 

2012 and 2013 are direct results of the RFS. 

Congress established the initial RFS under the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005. Its updated successor, frequently 

called the RFS2, set a standard for 36 billion gallons of 

renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2022. The 

standard divides the renewable fuel requirement into total 

renewable fuels, advanced biofuels, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic ethanol. Each of these categories has 

a volume requirement and standard. It also sets lifecycle 

greenhouse gas performance threshold standards in order to guarantee the renewable fuels emit less than conventional fuel.19 

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Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13

18 Bio Economic Research Associates: “US Economic Impact of Advanced Biofuels 

Production: Perspectives to 2030”. February 2009. <http://www.cleantechsandiego.org/reports/EconomicImpactAdvancedBiofuels.pdf>

19 Congressional Research Service. “Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues.” By Randy Schnepf and Brent D. Yacobucci. 2012. July 2012 

<http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40155.pdf>.

REG’s Danville, Illinois facility. Photo credit REG, Inc.

Study

Jobs Created in Plant 

Construction (FTE per 

million gallons)

MA ABTF (2008) 22.5

Leistritz (2007) 15.9

E2 10.29

Flanders (2007) 6.4

Table 7: Adapted from Bio-Era’s US Economic Impact of 

Advanced Biofuels Production: Perspectives to 2030

Study

Operating Jobs 

per Million 

Gallons

Description

Solomon (2007) – 

Scenario B 17.3 Cellulosic ethanol plant (includes feedstock supply)

Perez-Verdin 

(2008) 17.5 Cellulosic ethanol plant (includes feedstock and delivery jobs)

E2 (2012) 2.24

Average for advanced ethanol 

plants (excludes feedstock, delivery jobs)

Liestritz (2007) 1.5

50 MGY cellulosic ethanol plant 

using wheat straw (excludes feedstock, delivery jobs)

Aden (2002) 1.1

Cellulosic ethanol using plant crop 

waste (excludes feedstock, delivery jobs)

Table 6: E2’s job multiplier, developed from industry survey, is 

within the range of multipliers from academic studies.
RFS2 provides a mandatory market for biofuels that meet 

its standards. It sets a cap on corn ethanol, which can 

drive up the prices of produce and supports the expansion of the advanced biofuels industry. By securing demand for biofuels, this standard helps reduce some of 

the risk associated with investing in biofuels, opening 

opportunities for investment capital. It also guarantees 

demand for agriculture while enhancing the United 

States’ energy security and providing considerable environmental benefits.20

In 2012, between election year debates over support for 

renewable energy and the Midwestern drought, there 

have been additional calls to “open up” the RFS2 to 

changes. The advanced biofuel industry has uniformly 

asked that the existing RFS2 remain intact, as this is the 

only steadfast policy to date. While plenty within the industry might change aspects of the rule, opening up the 

rule could invite a flood of unwelcome changes. Keeping 

the standard in place, as it currently stands, is the bare 

minimum of stability that could be provided to biofuel 

companies. 

Military

Military investments into the development and commercialization of biofuels have been crucial for the progress 

of the industry. Rather than an environmental motivation, 

the Department of Defense has identified domestic fuels 

as a key national security strategy. The military has expressed a need for a domestic supply of transportation 

fuels, so that DoD energy supply may not be interrupted 

by geopolitical instability and less subject to fuel price 

volatility. “The Air Force is the nation’s largest user of oil 

and gas. It spends about $8 billion on petroleum and 

electricity every year – the vast majority on fuel for our 

aircraft. Every time oil goes up $1 a barrel, it costs the 

defense department (and we taxpayers) about $130 

million.”21 For this reason, ninety percent of DoD energy 

investments are measures to increase energy efficiency, 

so the total energy required for military operations is 

reduced.22 However, long-term reliance on liquid fuels is 

inevitable, and therefore renewable fuels are of increasing interest.

Executive Order 13423 mandated a 30 percent reduction 

in non-tactical fleet fossil fuel use by 2020. This, in addition to goals by each branch of the DoD to ramp up use 

of advanced biofuels has been augmented with testing 

and initial purchases of advanced biofuels. In mid-2011, 

99 percent of the Air Force fleet had been certified to fly 

on biofuel blends.23

This year the Department of Defense has been criticized 

for its purchases of advanced biofuels for testing. This 

comes despite a long history of investing and developing 

technologies critical to the country’s defense, similar to 

early investments in night-vision goggles. Military purchases of test fuels are large when broken down by the 

gallon, however development stage products are not 

meant to be cost competitive. The commercialization of 

these fuels will bring down the cost curve, and the military’s support is widely identified as a major driving force 

toward commercialization, and eventually, lower priced 

fuel.

Aside from grant programs, the military, as the single 

largest purchaser of fuels in the U.S, continues to examine off-take agreements and biofuel investments through 

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Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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20 United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards.” Vol 77, No 5. 9 August 2012. 

<http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-09/pdf/2011-33451.pdf>.

21 Seip, Norman. "Push in Congress to ban biofuels in military has big long-term costs." The Christian Science Monitor. 16 July 2012. 09 August 2012 

<http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0716/Push-in-Congress-to-ban-biofuels-in-military-has-big-long-term-costs>.

22 http://energy.defense.gov

23 The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate. “From Barracks to the Battlefield.” Publication. 2011. July 2012 

<http://www.pewenvironment.org/uploadedFiles/PEG/Publications/Report/DoD-Report_FINAL.pdf>.

Distillation equipment at Dynamic Fuels’ Geismar, Louisiana facility. Photo credit Dynamic Fuels.
DARPA, its established R & D system.24 This same technology development has also supported the Internet, 

Global Positioning Systems, semiconductors, and more. 

In 2011 President Obama announced that the Navy, 

DOE, and USDA would invest up to $510 million in the 

construction and retrofit of biorefineries. 

LCFS

At the state level, California has enacted the Low Carbon 

Fuel Standard (LCFS), which has encouraged additional 

Clean Fuel Programs in Oregon and the Northeast/MidAtlantic region. The California LCFS requires a reduction 

of 10% in the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuel by 2020. The carbon intensity of fuels is measured from production to consumption. In California, 

transportation fuels make up 40% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions making fuel emission reductions a 

critical way for California to reach its overall climate 

change goals.25

This program’s strategy is to incentivize cleaner fuels but 

remain “fuel neutral” by letting obligated parties choose 

how to reduce emissions and thereby allowing them to 

respond to consumer demand. Todd Ellis of Imperium 

Renewables, when discussing the California rule, states, 

“this policy is forcing innovation to provide lower carbon 

fuels.”26 Those producers that exceed the standard will 

receive credits that they can either save for use later or 

sell to other producers who have not met the standard. 

The Governor’s office estimates 20% of vehicle gasoline 

consumption will be replaced with low carbon fuels.27

The LCFS does not pick winners and losers but instead 

allows the market to establish the most cost effective fuel 

mix for each company. It spurs competition between 

creators of low carbon fuels who want to sell their product to fuel providers. This standard ensures that a market 

for these low carbon fuels exists which will promote innovation, growth and development of the industry.28

E2's research shows that the vast majority of advanced 

biofuels are expected to possess just one quarter the CI 

of gasoline, which represents a 75% reduction in greenhouse gases from petroleum equivalents. Within California, this report assumes that reduced travel and improvements in fuel efficiency will keep demand constant 

at 18 billion gallons per year through 2020 for simplicity’s 

sake. Therefore a ten percent reduction in carbon intensity could be met with a combination of 15.6 billion gallons of traditional fuel plus 2.4 billion gallons (gasoline 

equivalent) of advanced biofuels (assuming advanced 

biofuels’ CI is one quarter that of gasoline and that traditional fuels’ CI does not increase). To meet the 2015 

milestone of a 2.5 percent reduction exclusively through 

advanced biofuels, 600 million gallons (gasoline equivalent) of advanced biofuels are needed - although the 

2015 target is more likely to be met with a combination of 

improved CI ethanol, natural gas, electricity and advanced biofuels. Given the 2.6 billion gallons of commercial production found within this report, if standards like 

the LCFS are upheld, there is reason to believe that these 

standards could be exceeded well beyond 2015.

The LCFS is under significant pressure to be modified or 

removed by some interest groups in California through 

litigation and administrative efforts. The result has created greater investment uncertainty for the advanced 

biofuels industry, slowing down growth. If the LCFS is 

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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24 The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate. “From Barracks to the Battlefield.” Publication. 2011. July 2012 

<http://www.pewenvironment.org/uploadedFiles/PEG/Publications/Report/DoD-Report_FINAL.pdf>.

25 "Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program Background." Air Resources Board. 18 August 2010. <http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs-background.htm>.

26 Ellis, Todd. Imperium Renewables. Interview by Mary Solecki. 6 August 2012.

27 Environmental Entrepreneurs, “Creating a Large, Guaranteed Market for Advanced Biofuels through an LCFS.” Available at: 

http://www.e2.org/jsp/controller?docId=20765

28 Jessen, Holly. "Golden Grain pursues project to lower carbon intensity score." Ethanol Producer Magazine. 11 July 2012. 31 July 2012 

<http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/8943/golden-grain-pursues-project-to-lower-carbon-intensity-score.>.

Planted trees. 

Photo credit 

ZeaChem, Inc.
upheld and greater certainty is created, investments will 

increase at a greater rate while carbon intensity will be 

improved. 

National LCFS

A recent UC Davis study29 examined the potential of a 

harmonized LCFS framework across the U.S. and Canada, which could eventually replace or complement the 

RFS2. With its enhanced carbon accounting, the sustainability standards set in place by the LCFS help shift 

production toward non-food based crops, alleviating the 

food scarcity issues that are of increasing concern. This 

standard would reduce the CI of transportation fuels by 

10-15% by 2030. Such an enhanced RFS2/LCFS was 

found to reduce fuel and feed prices for consumers, increase value for advanced biofuels, reduce compliance 

costs, and increase energy security. The study found that 

a national LCFS creates an energy security savings of 

$5-22 per barrel by substituting domestic energy 

sources. This savings equates to $411 billion by 2035 on 

fuel expenditures. 

Off-take Agreements

As cited in the 2011 report, off-take agreements remain 

an integral strategy to enable the establishment of advanced biorefineries in the U.S. These agreements for 

large, long-term purchases of fuel may fix prices, and set 

up a stable customer/producer relationship. Such a stable customer is highly desirable for an advanced biofuel 

producer, who can leverage an off-take agreement for 

lower cost debt financing. The primary advantage of an 

off-take agreement is the independence from legislation 

and regulation, allowing a buyer to dictate exactly what 

fuel is produced. 

Both the public and private sectors can pursue off-take 

agreements to meet fuel demands. Within the public sector, California’s Department of Governmental Services 

(DGS) recently issued a Request for Information, through 

which all California public agencies may purchase fuel.30

This concept is modeled after the success of Hawaii 

Electric Utility Company’s off-take agreement that was 

started in 2010, and which has resulted in at least two 

contracts to date. 

Large private companies have also begun off-take 

agreements for the price stabilization and reduced risk to 

their companies. For example, KiOR has secured off-take 

agreements with FedEx, Hunt Refining and Catchlight 

Energy, although the latter two are conditional agreements, based on the successful certifications of the fuel 

produced.

Inciting future off-take agreements between biofuel producers and users will boost the number of biorefineries 

that may come online in 2015 and beyond.

State Policies and Tax Incentives

States can use a variety of policies to encourage bioenergy. These can be broadly grouped into:

• Financial Incentives. Tax credits, tax exemptions, favorable tax rates, grants, and loans.

• Vehicle Acquisition and Fuel Use Requirements. Requirements for government vehicle 

fleets to use alternative fuel vehicles that can run 

on biofuels.

• Fuel Standards. Fuel blend requirements and 

low carbon fuel standards.

As of this year, 44 states utilize one or more of the above 

policies to encourage biofuels manufacturing and/or use. 

Of these, 31 states provide tax credits, tax exemptions or 

favorable tax rates; 26 apply either a vehicle acquisition 

or fuel use requirement, 19 provide grants or loans; 13 

have implemented a fuel standard or blend mandate and 

9 directly incentivize production or infrastructure development.

While many have implemented a broad mix of relevant 

policies, several states have been particularly successful 

at incentivizing commercial biofuel projects. As highlighted on the next page, these include Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida.31

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16

29 Yeh, Sperling, et al. National Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Technical Analysis Report. University of California Davis, 2012.

30 https://www.bidsync.com/DPX?ac=view&auc=1924896

31 DOE. ALternative Fuels Data Center. Available at: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/laws/
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17

Louisiana

In addition to a renewable fuel standard, Louisiana has 

a mix of research grants, blend rate reductions, and tax 

exemptions that target both supply and demand. The 

Advanced Ethanol Initiative aims to develop an advanced ethanol industry in Louisiana by developing the 

required feedstock, a manufacturing facility network, 

and expanding advanced ethanol supply and demand 

beyond the 10% blend market by blending ethanol with 

gasoline at the pump.

Tax Credit. The state offers a corporate or income tax 

credit for instate capital infrastructure projects, including biofuel projects. The tax credit provides 10% to 

25% of the project costs and up to $1 million per approved project.

Blend Rate Reduction. Certain government institutions 

can buy advanced ethanol blends from manufacturing 

facilities for 15% less than the per gallon price of unleaded gasoline.

Renewable Fuel Standard. Once annual in-state production exceeds 50 million gallons, at least 2% of the 

total gasoline sold by volume in the state must be denatured ethanol. Once annual in-state biodiesel production exceeds 10 million gallons, at least 2% of the total 

diesel sold must be biodiesel produced from domestically grown feedstock. 

Key Projects:

Dynamic Fuels | Geismar, LA | Capacity: 75 Mgal | Cost: 

$138m | Operational in 2010

Diamond Green | Norco, LA | Capacity: 140 Mgal | Cost: 

Not Given | Operational in 2013

BP Verenium | Jennings, LA | Capacity: 1.4 Mgal | Cost: 

Not Given | Operational in 2010

Florida

Hydrogen and Biofuels Investment Tax Credit. An income tax credit is available for 75% of all capital operation, maintenance, research and development costs incurred in connection with an investment in the production, 

storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100) ethanol 

(E10-E100), or other renewable fuel in the state. The tax 

credit is capped at $1 million annually per claimant and 

$10 million annually for all claimants combined.

Renewable Energy Grants. Farm to Fuel Grants Program 

provide matching grants for demonstration, commercialization, research, and development projects related to renewable energy technologies or bioenergy. Incentive 

awards are subject to state funding availability.

Key Projects:

BP Vercipia | Highlands, FL | Capacity: 36 Mgal | Cost: 

$215m | Operational in 2015

INEOS | Vero Beach, FL | Capacity: 8 Mgal | Cost: $130m | 

Operational in 2012

Mississippi

Production Incentive. The Department of Agriculture and 

Commerce provides producers with direct payments of 

$0.20 per gallon for up to 30 million gallons per year per 

producer for up to 10 years following the start date of production. Total annual payment per producer is capped at 

$6 million or $37 million per year cumulative total. Payments under this incentive end on June 30, 2015.

Fuel Use Requirement. By 2014, at least 75% of all state 

vehicles must either fuel efficient or hybrid electric vehicles 

that achieve a fuel economy of at least 40 miles per gallon.

Key Projects: 

BlueFire Renewables | Fulton, MS | Capacity: 19 Mgal | 

Cost: $320m | Operational in 2013

KiOR | Nantchez, MS | Capacity: 33 Mgal | Cost: $350m | 

Operational in 2014

Enerkem | Pontotoc, MS | Capacity: 10 Mgal | Cost: $90m | 

Operational in 2014 Raw material check at 

Dynamic Fuels in Louisiana. Photo credit 

Dynamic Fuels.
VII. Conclusions

E2’s 2012 report documents extensive economic activity 

surrounding advanced biofuels. This activity is illustrated 

by the significant federal and private investments over 

the last five years, the transition from development to 

production of advanced biofuels represented by at least 

27 new production facilities by 2015, and the number of 

total projects already underway.

This report leads to the following conclusions:

1. About 685 million gallons of advanced biofuels 

capacity will exist in 2012, which will increase to 

at least 1.6 billion gallons by 2015. On the high 

end, this number could reach 2.6 billion gallons.

2. Requirements such as the RFS2 and LCFS, in 

concert with financial support from federal 

agencies like DOE and USDA are resulting in the 

construction or retrofit of 27 biorefineries by 

2015. Fuel standards can be met by the capacity 

of these & existing facilities, but continued 

support of these government programs is crucial. 

Sufficient stability now will encourage investment 

of private capital into advanced biofuels, and 

increased quantities of fuel capacity. 

3. Biofuel companies have had a challenging year, 

from an investment and policy standpoint, but 

continue to develop technologically and 

commercially. Many first of kind facilities are 

beginning or under construction, proving the 

scalability of some technologies. Mergers and 

acquisitions are beginning to consolidate the 

market so investments may become more 

concentrated.

4. From the 27 biorefineries coming online by 2015, 

about 1,518 permanent, 6,965 construction and 

9,924 indirect jobs could be created. This 

number only scratches the surface, as it does 

not fully account for other jobs created within the 

biofuel value chain or corporate/R&D jobs. Also, 

this number is merely a starting point as the 

advanced biofuel industry continues to expand in 

coming years.

5. Off-take agreements provide a regulatory and 

policy free mechanism to incent the production 

of advanced biofuels. Stable demand through 

these agreements could result in increased 

advanced biofuel production capacity.

6. State policies to attract biorefineries are having a 

direct impact on the location of the facilities 

under plan. Many biorefineries will be located in 

the Southeast, where there are significant tax 

incentives and streamlined permitting processes.

7. The Department of Defense’s leadership and 

interest in advanced biofuels has highlighted the 

importance of a domestic, sustainable energy 

supply. With the military as a main customer, the 

USDA’s investment in feedstock production and 

DOE’s investments in biofuel production are 

showing a deliberate federal strategy to have a 

U.S.-based fuel supply and its related economic 

benefits.

8. Advanced biofuels will continue to decrease 

production costs as commercial capacity is 

expanded. At capacity, companies have plans to 

produce at $0.60-$3.50 per gallon, depending on 

the feedstock and technology. Although directly 

comparing to petroleum production costs is 

difficult, this range is expected to be competitive.

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Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18
Acknowledgements

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Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19

In addition to the dozens of advanced biofuel companies who provided data on their businesses and perspectives, the report authors would like to acknowledge the following friends and colleagues for their time & 

contributions:

Judith Albert, E2 Staff

Eric Bowen, Renewable Energy Group and E2 Member

Dallas Burkholder, US Environmental Protection Agency

Erik Chen, E2 Staff

Sabrina Eshaghi, E2 Intern

Jamie Hall, CalStart

Debbie Hammel, NRDC

Sheeraz Haji, Cleantech Group

Christine Luong, E2 Staff

Simon Mui, NRDC

Shelby Neal, National Biodiesel Board

Kinkead Reiling, E2 Member

Brian Siu, NRDC

Sonia Yeh, UC Davis

Leo Zhang, Cleantech Group

Paul Zorner, Pegasus Capital Advisors and E2 Member

The authors would also like to thank the following for affording us an interview:

Richard Corey, California Air Resources Board

Michelle Manion, NESCAUM

David Mann, Khosla Ventures

Brook Porter, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers

Floyd Vergara, California Air Resources Board
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 20

APPENDIX A

Advanced Biodiesel Facilities Registered with RFS2

(using non-virgin oil feedstocks)

Company City State Capacity Feedstock WebSite

Agribiofuels Dayton TX 12 Multi Feedstock www.agribiofuels.com

Agrifuels Bremen OH 1 Multi Feedstock www.ohioagrifuel.com

Alternative Fuel Solutions Huntington IN 0.8 Multi Feedstock

Alterra Bioenergy of 

Middle Georgia Gordon GA 12.1 Multi Feedstock www.alterrabioenergy.com

American Biodiesel 

Energy Erie PA 4 Multi Feedstock

www.americanbiodieselenergy.

com

Beacon Energy Cleburne TX 12 Multi Feedstock www.beacontx.com

Beaver Biodiesel Portland OR .9 Multi Feedstock www.beaverbiodiesel.com

Bently Biofuels Minden NV 1 Multi Feedstock www.bentlybiofuels.com

Bio Blend Fuels Manitowoc WI 2.6 Multi Feedstock www.bioblendfuels.com

BioDiesel One Southington CT 3 Multi Feedstock www.biodieseloneltd.com

Blue Ridge Biofuels Asheville NC 1 Multi Feedstock www.blueridgebiofuels.com

Blue Sun Biodiesel St. Joseph MO 30 Waste Oil www.gobluesun.com

Bluegrass BioDiesel Falmouth KY 9 Multi Feedstock www.bluegrass-biodiesel.com

BullDog BioDiesel Ellenwood GA 12 Multi Feedstock www.bbiod.com

Cape Cod BioFuels Sandwich MA 0.5 Waste Oil www.capecodbiofuels.com

Center Alternative 

Energy Company Cleveland OH 5 Multi Feedstock www.centeroil.com

CGF Clayton Clayton DE 11 Multi Feedstock www.cgfcorp.com

Clinton County Bio 

Energy Clinton IA 10 Multi Feedstock www.ccbebiodiesel.com

Community Fuels Stockton CA 10 Multi Feedstock www.communityfuels.com

Crimson Renewable 

Energy Bakersfield CA 30 Multi Feedstock www.crimsonrenewable.com

Deerfield Energy Deerfield MO 30

Down to Earth Energy Monroe GA 2 Multi Feedstock www.downtoearthenergy.net

DPC Enterprises Farmington CT Multi Feedstock www.farmingtonbiofuel.com

Eagle Bio Diesel Kane Kane PA 3 Multi Feedstock

Emergent Green Energy Minneola KS 2 Multi Feedstock www.egebio.com

Energy Tec Maquoketa IA 0 Waste Oil

Environmental 

Development Group Tucson AZ 1.5 Recycled Cooking Oil www.edgroup.us

Ever Cat Fuels Isanti MN 3 Multi Feedstock www.evercatfuels.com

Evergreen Biodiesel 

Production Facility Taylors SC 36 Multi Feedstock

FELDA IFFCO Cincinnati OH 60 Multi Feedstock us.feldaiffco.com

Foothills Bio-Energies Lenoir NC 5 Multi Feedstock www.foothillsbio-energies.com

Gen-X Energy Group Moses Lake WA 15 Multi Feedstock www.genxenergies.com

General Biodiesel Seattle Seattle WA 10 Multi Feedstock www.generalbiodiesel.com

Genuine Bio-Fuel Indiantown FL 3.9 Used Cooking Oil www.genuinebiofuel.com

GGS Cookeville TN Cookeville TN 2 Used Veg Oil www.greengallonsolutions.com

Global Fuels Dexter MO 3 Multi Feedstock

Green Earth Fuels of 

Houston Galena Park TX 90 Multi Feedstock www.greenearthfuelsllc.com

Green Valley Biofuels Warrenville SC 35 Multi Feedstock www.greenvalleybio.com

Greenlight Biofuels 

Holding

Princess 

Anne MD Used Veg Oil www.glbiofuels.com

Greenwave Biodiesel

Ft. 

Lauterdale FL 4 Waste Oil www.greenwavebiodiesel.com

Griffin Industries Butler KY 1.8 Multi Feedstock www.griffinind.com

Hanson County Oil 

Producers Alexandria SD 7

High Plains Bioenergy Guymon OK 30 Multi Feedstock www.highplainsbioenergy.com
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 21

Imperial Western 

Products Coachella CA 10.5 Multi Feedstock www.biotanefuels.com

Imperium Grays Harbor Hoquiam WA 100 Multi Feedstock www.imperiumrenewables.com

Integrity Biofuels Morristown IN 5 Multi Feedstock www.integritybiofuels.com

Iowa Renewable Energy Washington IA 30 Multi Feedstock www.irebiodiesel.com

Jatrodiesel Miamisburg OH 5 Multi Feedstock www.jatrodiesel.com

Keystone BioFuels Camp Hill PA 60 Waste Oil www.keystonebiofuels.com

Lake Erie Biofuels dba 

HERO BX Erie PA 45 Multi Feedstock www.lakeeriebiofuels.com

Leland Organic 

Corporation Leland NC 10 Multi Feedstock

Maine Standard Biofuel Portland ME 0.5 Yellow Grease

www.mainestandardbiofuels.co

m

Natural Biodiesel Plant Hayti MO 5 Multi Feedstock

New Leaf Biofuel San Diego CA 2 Used Cooking Oil www.newleafbiofuel.com

Newport Biodiesel Newport RI 0.5 Recycled Cooking Oil www.newportbiodiesel.com

Patriot Biodiesel Greensboro NC 6.9 Multi Feedstock www.patriotbiodiesel.com

Piedmont Biofuels Pittsboro NC 3.3 Multi Feedstock www.biofuels.coop

Pinnacle Biofuels Crossett AR 10 Multi Feedstock www.pinnaclebiofuels.com

Pleasant Valley Biofuels

American 

Falls ID 1.5

Recycled Cooking Oil, 

Tallow

www.pleasantvalleybiofuels.co

m

Promethean Biofuels 

Cooperative Corporation Temecula CA 1.5 Multi Feedstock www.prometheanbiofuels.com

R Power Biofuels

Redwood 

City CA 0.8

RBF Port Neches Port Neches TX 180 Multi Feedstock www.rbfuels.com

RECO Biodiesel Richmond VA 1 Multi Feedstock www.recobiodiesel.com

Red Birch Energy Bassett VA 2.5 Multi Feedstock www.redbirchenergy.com

REG Many

MN, 

IL, 

TX, 

IA 272 Multi Feedstock www.REGI.com

REV Biodiesel Gilbert AZ 30 Multi Feedstock www.revbiodiesel.com

Rio Valley Biofuels Anthony NM 1 Multi Feedstock www.riovalleybiofuels.com

Sanimax Energy Deforest WI 20 Multi Feedstock www.sanimax.com

Scott Petroleum 

Corporation Greenville MS 20 Multi Feedstock www.scottpetroleuminc.com

Seminole Biodiesel Bainbridge GA 5 Multi Feedstock www.inland-stores.com

SeQuential Biodiesel Salem OR 17 Multi Feedstock www.sqbiofuels.com

Simple Fuels Biodiesel Chilcoot CA 1 Multi Feedstock www.simplefuels.com

Smart Fuels Florida

Fruitland 

Park FL

South East Oklahoma 

Biodiesel Valliant OK 5 Multi Feedstock

Stepan Company Millsdale IL 22 Multi Feedstock www.stepan.com

Sullens Biodiesel Morrison TN 2 Waste Oil

Texas Biotech Arlington TX Multi Feedstock www.txbiotech.com

Texas Green 

Manufacturing Littlefield TX 1.3 Tallow www.texasgreen.biz

The La Grange Plant La Grange TX 3.5 Multi Feedstock www.thelagrangeplantinc.com

Thumb BioEnergy Sandusky MI 0.3 Multi Feedstock www.thumbbioenergy.com

TMT Biofuels Port Leyden NY 0.3 Recycled Cooking Oil www.tmtbiofuels.com

TPA Inc. Detroit MI 17.5 Multi Feedstock www.thepoweralternative.com

Triangle Biofuels 

Industries Wilson NC 3 Multi Feedstock www.trianglebiofuels.com

United Oil Company Pittsburgh PA 5 Multi Feedstock www.unitedb100.com

Virginia Biodiesel 

Refinery West Point VA 7 Multi Feedstock www.virginiabiodiesel.com

Walsh Bio Fuels Mauston WI 5 Multi Feedstock walshbiofuel.com
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 22

Washakie Renewable 

Energy Plymouth UT 10 Multi Feedstock www.wrebiofuels.com

Western Dubuque 

Biodiesel Farley IA 3

Crude or Refined Veg 

Oils www.wdbiodiesel.net

Western Iowa Energy Wall Lake IA 30 Multi Feedstock www.westerniowaenergy.com

White Mountain Biodiesel

North 

Haverhill NH 5.5 Multi Feedstock

www.whitemountainbiodiesel.c

om

Yokayo Biofuels Ukiah CA 0.5 Recycled Cooking Oil www.ybiofuels.org

91 Companies 1.48

Billion Gallons 

Capacity

Capacity of facilities able to process non-virgin oil biodiesel is 1.48 billion gallons. Some of this capacity is filled 

with biodiesel production from virgin oils, but non-virgin biodiesel production lies at approximately 564 million 

gallons in 2012. As RFS2 biomass based diesel mandates increase, additional capacity proves ability to meet 

mandates.

The methodology E2 used to develop this list is detailed in Appendix H. 
APPENDIX B

Advanced Biofuel Facilities coming online in the United States and Canada before 2015

(Method One – Low End)

Company Facility Type Fuel Type

Projected 

Online

Capacity 

MGPY

Facility 

Location

Facility Cost 

(Millions)

Private 

Investment 

(Millions)

Public 

Funding? Feedstock Notes

Abengoa commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 25 Hugoton, KS $133 $134 mill DOE cellulose

Aemetis commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2015 11 Keyes, CA $8

$3.5 Project 

finance $1.88 CEC corn stover

Pre-commercial cellulosic (1 MG) 

coming online 2013 in Keyes. By 2015, 

co-fermentation process at existing 55 

MG facility. Approx 10 MG will be 

cellulosic feedstock, remainder corn

Algenol pilot

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2012 0.1 Fort Myers, FL

$35 DOE and 

Lee County FL algae

American Process 

& Cobalt commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 

then butanol Q2 2012 0.89 Alpena, MI

$22 mill DOE 

and MI woody biomass

from EPA. Actual 2012 production 

predicted at .5 MGPY by EPA.

Beta Renewables Commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2014 20

Sampson 

County, NC $4 BCAP

Miscanthus & 

switchgrass

JV of Chemtex and Gruppo Mossi & 

Ghisolfi; prototype in Italy

BlueFire 

Renewable commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 19 Fulton, MS $320 $25.5 $85 mill DOE wood waste

Construction of this plant is contingent 

upon completion of project financing.

BlueFire 

Renewable demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 3.9 Lancaster, CA $100-125 wood waste

needs additional financing to finish and 

should not be operational in 2012 but 

should be by 2015.

Blue Sugars Corp 

(formerly KL 

Energy ) demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 1.5 Upton, WY $11 upgrade $4

Bagasse and 

pulp wood

EPA counting 0.1 production for 2012 

RFS

BP - Verenium demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol operating 1.4 Jennings, LA $250

$4.9 DOE, 5.4 

New Zealand Energy cane Pilot plant operates 24/7, 365

BP- Vercipia commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol

Within 3 

years 36 Highlands, FL Energy cane 20,000 acre farm

Cool Planet commercial

Renewable 

Gasoline 2012 2

Ventura County, 

CA $11.5

woodchips, 

crop residue or 

algae

Financiers: GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG 

Energy, North bridge, Google Ventures 

and BP

Coskata demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2009 0.04 Madison, PA $113.4 $250 USDA

lignocellulosic, 

wood chips, 

NG, sugar cane 

wastes

Diamond Green commercial

Renewable 

Diesel 2013 140

Norco, 

Louisiana

declined $241 

mill DOE loan 

guarantee

animal fat, used 

cooking oil Uses UOP oil. JV of Valero and Darling.

DuPont Cellulosic 

Ethanol pilot

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2010 0.25 Vonore, TN $140 $100

lignocellulosics,

corn stover, 

switchgrass

DuPont Cellulosic 

Ethanol commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 27.5 Nevada, Iowa $200

$8.7 mill tax 

breaks from 

Nevada, Iowa

lignocellulosics,

corn stover, 

switchgrass

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 23
Company Facility Type Fuel Type

Projected 

Online

Capacity 

MGPY

Facility 

Location

Facility Cost 

(Millions)

Private 

Investment 

Public 

Funding? Feedstock Notes

Dynamic Fuels commercial

Renewable 

Diesel 2010 75 Geismar, LA $138 $138

animal fat, used 

cooking oil JV Syntroleum Corp and Tyson

EdeniQ & Logos 

Tech demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2012 0.05 Visalia, CA $68*

$3.9 CEC for 

cellulosic boltons 2012, 20.4 

DOE

Logos Tech, Novozymes, Ceres, 

NextStep, USDA and UC Davis

Enerkem demo 

Cellulosic 

Ethanol and 

methanol operating 1.3

Westbury, 

Quebec $335*

$50 M DOE, 

$80 USDA loan 

guarantee cellulose

Enerkem commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol and 

methanol 2013 9.5

Edmonton, 

Alberta MSW

Enerkem commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol and 

methanol 2014 10 Pontotoc, MS $90 MSW

Envergent 

(Honeywell/UOP & 

Ensyn) demo

Crude oil 

into 

renewable 

diesel and 

aviation fuel 2014 0.1 Kapolei, HI $3

$25 M DOE 

grant

Ag waste, pulp, 

paper, wood, 

energy crops 

and algae

after demo - plant to ramp up to 50MG, 

but not clear if this will happen by 2015. 

Fiberight commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 3.6 Blairstown, IA $59.5

$25 mill USDA 

loan guarantee 

and $2.5 from 

Iowa MSW from EPA

Fulcrum commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2014 10 Reno, NV $180 $140*

$105 USDA 

loan guarantee

MSW

USDA loan guarantee will likely replace 

IPO funding for facility

Gevo commercial Isobutanol 2012 18 Luverne, MN $17 retrofit

$232 equity, 

40 debt $5 M USDA

Additional processing techniques will 

need to be installed for fuel to be 

"advanced." Timeline for installing this is 

unclear.

Gevo commercial Isobutanol 2013 37 Redfield, SD

Gevo demo Isobutanol operating 1 St. Joseph, MO

Haldor Topsoe demo

renewable 

gasoline 2012 0.345 Des Plaines, IL 

$25 M DOE 

grant wood waste

ICM demo

cellulosic 

ethanol operating 0.245 St. Joseph, MO

$25 M DOE 

grant

corn fiber, 

switchgrass, 

energy 

sorghum

INEOS Bio commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2012 8 Vero Beach, FL $450*

$50 DOE $2.5 

grant FL, $75 

USDA loan 

MSW, ag 

residue from EPA

Iogen demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol

operating 

(since 2004) 0.48 Ottawa, Ontario

$98.82 equity 

+ 10 debt $80 M DOE

Joule Unlimited demo Ethanol 2012 Hobbs, NM >$110*

CO2 and 

sunlight

expect to produce 25,000 gallons of 

ethanol and 15,000 gallons of diesel per 

acre at commercial scale

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 24
Company Facility Type Fuel Type

Projected 

Online

Capacity 

MGPY

Facility 

Location

Facility Cost 

(Millions)

Private 

Investment 

(Millions)

Public 

Funding? Feedstock Notes

KiOR commercial

Renewable 

Diesel and 

Gasoline

second half 

2012 11 Columbus, MS <$222

$179.4 equity 

and 75 debt

$75 mill loan 

MS Dev 

Authority

pre-commercial 

thinnings

Recently announced EPA reg as a 

renewable gasoline blendstock. Plans 

to commercialize two more facilities in 

coming years, with details TBA.

KiOR commercial

Renewable 

Diesel

ground 

breaking Q1 

2013 33 Natchez, MS

$350 for 

BFCC, $110 

for 2 plant 

upgrade

pre-commercial 

thinnings

Ground breaking pending financing and 

other considerations.

LanzaTech commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol ? 20 Soperton GA $85.8

3M FAA, 4M 

DOE, 0.5M 

DARPA, 0.5 

DOE, 7M New 

Zealand 

Government CO purchased Range Fuels in Jan 2012.

LS9 demo

Renewable 

Diesel

operating, 

2012 0.075

Okeechobee, 

FL

$79.5 + 3 

debt

$4.5 Florida 

Opportunity 

Fund Sugar

first a demo then expected to be scaled 

up to commercial production levels

Mascoma pilot

Cellulosic 

Ethanol operating 0.2 Rome, NY $51 $181 $26 DOE

wood and 

switchgrass

Mascoma-Valero commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2014 40

Kinross, 

Michigan $232

DOE and State 

of Michigan

Hardwood 

pulpwood

Option to expand to 80 MGPY. $1.77 

cost per gallon, cited in S-1

POET demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2009 0.02 Scotland, SD $8 Corn cobs

POET commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol

second half 

of 2013 25

Emmetsburg, 

IA

declined DOE 

loan corn cobs

RenTech demo

Jet & 

renewable 

diesel operating 0.07

Commerce City, 

CO $4.62 $23 DOE woody biomass UOP Technology

RenTech commercial Aviation 2015 23

White River, 

Ontario woody biomass

UOP Technology. Abandoned Natchez 

MS site for CTL.

Sapphire Energy commercial crude oil 2014 1 Columbus, NM $340*

$135M USDA, 

50M DOE, 

54.5M USDA 

loan algae

100 barrels of crude oil which may be 

refined into any fuel

Sierra Energy demo

Renewable 

Diesel

Sacramento, 

CA $5M CEC MSW

Sundrop Fuels commercial

Renewable 

gasoline 2014 50 Alexandria, LA $450 $217.3 woody biomass Partnered with ThyssenKrupp Uhde

Terrabon demo

renewable 

gasoline

2010/

operating 0.05 Bryan, TX

$1.25 + 9.6 

from Logos MSW

US Envirofuels commercial Ethanol

Dec 2014 

(count as 

2015) 36 Highlands, FL $170

sweet sorghum 

and sugarcane

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 25
Company Facility Type Fuel Type

Projected 

Online

Capacity 

MGPY

Facility 

Location

Facility Cost 

(Millions)

Private 

Investment 

Public 

Funding? Feedstock Notes

Virent demo

renewable 

gasoline operating 0.01 Madison, WI $77

$1.5M FAA, 4M 

DOE, 13.4 DOE beet sugar Shell and HCL Cleantech

Woodland Biofuels demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol Q3 2012 1 Sarnia, Ontario $13.22

$4.275M 

SDTC, 4M 

Ontario Ministry 

of Research & 

Innovation, 

9.8M SDTC wood waste

ZeaChem demo

Cellulosic 

Ethanol operating 0.25 Boardman, OR $64*

$25M DOE 

cooperative 

agreement for 

cellulosic 

ethanol 

production

planted trees 

and wheatstraw EPA is counting 0.05 MG for 2012 RFS

ZeaChem commercial

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2014 25 Boardman, OR

$232.5M loan 

from USDA, 

pre-cert for 

Oregon 

Business 

Energy Tax 

Credit $6.7M

planted trees 

and wheatstraw

TOTAL

27 

8 

1 

commercial

demos

pilot 1.6 Billion Gallons

All funding data provided by Cleantech Group, except direct company statements, which are denoted with a *.

Demo and Commercial; by Fuel Type:

Company 

Count 2012 2013 2014 2015

Ethanol 24 14.225 126.325 267.325 337.225

Diesel 5 75.075 215.075 248.445 248.445

Gasoline 5 2.405 2.405 52.405 52.405

Butanol 1 19 56 56 56

Aviation 1 0.07 0.07 0.07 23.07

Multiple 1 11 11 11 11

Crude oil 2 0 0 1.1 1.1

TOTAL 39 121.775 410.875 636.345 729.245

The methodology E2 used to develop this list is detailed in Appendix H.

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 26
APPENDIX C

Active Advanced Biofuel Companies in the United States & Canada

(Method Two – High End)

Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity 

(Millions of 

Gallons)

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity 

(Millions of 

Gallons) Note

Public 

Company? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

Abengoa Chesterfield MO Hugoton, KS Ethanol 0.02 25 Multiple EH cellulose

LCFS, 

RFS2

Aemetis Cupertino CA Keyes, CA Ethanol 11

Cellulosic ethanol, 

corn EH cellulose RFS2

Algenol Bonita Springs FL Fort Myers, FL Ethanol 0.1 0.1 Algae into ethanol

algae 

fermentation algae

Alipha Jet San Francisco CA TBD

Aviation, 

Renewable 

Diesel, 

Renewable 

Gasoline 0 20

catalytic 

decarboxylation

plant oils, waste 

oils and fats, 

and algae oil

AltAir Fuels Seattle WA Anacortes, WA Aviation 100 camelina

American 

Process Inc Atlanta GA Alpena, MI Ethanol 0.89 0.89 EH cellulose/wood RFS2

Amyris Inc. Emeryville CA

Diesel - 

Renewable and 

Aviation 0.01 0.01

shifting production 

from Decatur IL 

facility to Brazil 

but have plans for 

US production in 

future. Still have 

Emeryville demo 

facility. Yes fermentation sugar

$363.8 

private equity 

+ 58.7 private 

placement + 

25 debt 

Archer Daniels 

Midland Decatur IL Ethanol 0 1

corn stover. 

Purdue as 

research partner. EH cellulose

RFS2/

LCFS

Beta 

Renewables NC

Sampson 

County, NC Ethanol 20

Proesa technology 

license to multiple 

biofuel producers. EH

miscanthus and 

switchgrass

Bio Architecture 

Lab Berkeley CA

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable

building pilot 

facility this year in 

Berkeley. 

Seaweed as 

feedstock. seaweed $11

Blue Fuel Energy 

Corporation Sidney BC

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable CO2

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 27
Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity Note

Public 

Co? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

Blue Sugars 

Corp (formerly 

KL Energy) Upton WY Upton, WY Ethanol 0 1.5 EH woody biomass $4

BlueFire 

Renewables CA

Fulton, MS, 

Lancaster, CA Ethanol 0 22.9

concentrated 

acid hydrolysis woody biomass $19.5

BP Biofuels - 

Butamax Wilmington DE Biobutanol 0.5 0.5

Commercialization 

plans TBA late 

2012 Yes fermentation corn

BP Biofuels - 

Vercipia Highlands FL Highlands, FL Ethanol 36

includes 20,000 

acre farm Yes EH

Energy cane 

and energy 

grasses

BP Biofuels - 

Verenium Berkeley CA Jennings, LA

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable 1.4 1.4

Pilot plant 

operates 24/7, 

365. Yes

enzymatic 

hydrolysis

Energy cane 

and energy 

grasses

Byogy San Jose CA Aviation ethanol to jet fuel

catalytic 

synthesis ethanol

Calgren 

Renewable Fuels Pixley CA Ethanol 58

Currently corn, but 

moving to 

cellulosic by 2015.

corn now, 

moving to 

cellulose

RFS2/

LCFS

Cobalt 

Technology Mountain View CA Biobutanol

counted 

with API

Counted 

with API

Biobutanol from 

forestry products 

for aviation fuel fermentation cellulose $73.5

Cool Planet 

Biofuels Camarillo CA Ventura, CA

Gasoline - 

Renewable 2 2

Company projects 

1B gallons/year by 

2015. CO2 $11.5

CORE Biofuel Sarnia ON Canada

Gasoline - 

Renewable 0 17.8

direct jobs: 50 

indirect: 150 

type: skilled/

unskilled gasification woody biomass $3

Coskata Warrenville IL Madison, PA Ethanol 0.05 55.05

Going to Natural 

Gas production Delayed gasification multi-feedstock $113.4

LCFS, 

RFS2

Diamond Green LA

Norco, 

Louisiana

Diesel - 

Renewable 0 140 hydroprocessing animal waste

DuPont 

Cellulosic 

Ethanol Vonore TN

Vonore, TN, 

Nevada, IA Ethanol 0.25 27.75 EH cellulose $100

Dynamic Fuels Geismar LA Geismar, LA

Diesel - 

Renewable 75 75

Tyson & 

Syntroleum JV FT animal waste $138 RFS2

Dynamotive BC

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable Bio-oil pyrolysis multi-feedstock $10.5

EcoTech Fuels Los Angeles CA Ethanol gasification MSW

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 28
Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity 

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity Note

Public 

Co? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

EdeniQ Visalia CA

Brazil and 

USA Ethanol 0.05

"tens of 

millions"

although noted 

here, imprecise 

forecast not 

included in totals. enzymatic cellulose $68*

Emerald Biofuels LA

Plaquemine, 

LA

diesel - 

Renewable 85

Honeywell/UOP 

tech on Dow 

Chem site. 

Permitted.

waste fats and 

oils

Enerkem Montreal QBC

Pontotoc, MS 

and Canada Ethanol 1.3 30 Delayed Thermochemical MSW $335*

Ensyn 

Technologies Ottawa ONT Kapolei, HI Bio crude oil 0.1

Partnering with 

UOP for Hawaii 

project

rapid thermal 

processing multi-feedstock $3

Fiberight Blairstown IA Blairstown, IA Ethanol 6 MSW EH MSW

Flambeau River 

Biofuels Park Falls WI

Diesel - 

Renewable woody biomass

Fulcrum 

BioEnergy CA Reno, NV Ethanol 0 40 Filed $140*

General Atomics San Diego CA Aviation algae

Gevo 

Development Engelwood CO

Luverne, MN, 

Redfield, SD, 

St. Joseph, 

MO Isobutanol 19 350

isobutanol from 

forestry 

byproducts Yes fermentation multi-feedstock

$232 equity, 

40 debt

Green Plains 

Renewable 

Energy

Shenandoah, 

IA Ethanol n/a

partnership with 

BioProcess Algae 

to test algae in 

Shenandoah, 

Iowa facility. algae $9.7

LCFS, 

RFS2

GreenField 

Ethanol Toronto ONT Ethanol

see 

Enerkem 

Edmonton 

plant

working with 

Enerkem on 

Quebec cellulosic 

facility. cellulose RFS2

Haldor Topsoe TBD

Des Plaines, 

IL Ethanol 0.345 0.8 EH

Hawaii 

Bioenergy Honolulu HI

Diesel - 

Renewable 0 0

ICM Colwich KS

St. Joseph, 

MO Ethanol 0.245 0.245

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 29
Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity 

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity Note

Public 

Co? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

Imperium 

Renewables Seattle WA

Grays Harbor, 

WA Aviation 30

Biodiesel producer 

looking to expand 

into jet fuel. waste oils

INBICON Chicago IL Ethanol

Domestic projects 

are partnership 

based. 3 plants 

currently in 

engineering 

non-chem 

pretreatment, 

EH, sugar 

fermentation

cellulose - ag 

residues $450*

INEOS Bio Lisle IL

Vero Beach, 

FL Ethanol 8 8 gasification MSW

Iogen Ottawa ONT

Ottawa, 

Ontario Ethanol 0.48 0.48 cellulose

$98.82 equity 

+ 10 debt

Joule 

Biotechnologies Cambridge MA Hobbs, NM

renewable 

diesel and 

ethanol

expect to produce 

25,000 gallons of 

ethanol and 

15,000 gallons of 

diesel per acre at 

commercial scale

Helioculture 

Platform CO2 >$110*

KiOR Pasadena TX

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable 11 143 Yes

Biomass Fluid 

Catalytic 

Cracking woody biomass

$179.4 equity 

and 75 debt

Lanza Tech Roselle IL Soperton GA Ethanol 1 20 gasification $85.8

Lignol Burnaby BC

pilot in 

Burnaby, BC Ethanol 20

partnered with 

Novozymes. woody biomass

Logos 

Technologies Fairfax VA Ethanol 0

Visalia production 

counted under 

EdeniQ EH cellulose, MSW

LS9

South San 

Francisco CA

Okeechobee, 

FL

Diesel - 

Renewable 0.075 0.075 Biofuels fermentation

woody biomass 

& sugar

$79.5 + 3 

debt

Mascoma Lebanon NH

Rome, NY, 

Kinross, MI Ethanol 0.2 40.2 Filed CBP woody biomass $181

Novogy Cambridge MA Ethanol

still in stealth 

mode. paper waste

$4.2 private 

equity + 1.5 

debt

Optinol CA TBD biobutanol 0 20

feedstock: any 

sugar source fermentation

sugar from multi 

feedstocks $1

OPX 

Biotechnologies Boulder CO

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable

enzymatic 

hydrolysis multi-feedstock $63.6

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 30
Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity 

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity Note

Public 

Co? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

Pacific Ethanol Sacramento CA Ethanol 0 0

intends to expand 

to cellulose.

agricultural 

residue, sweet 

sorghum

RFS2/

LCFS

Phycal

Highland 

Heights OH

multiple Fuels - 

Renewable

Ethanol from 

cassava and other 

fuels from algae

cassava and 

algae

POET Sioux Falls SD

Scotland, SD 

& 

Emmetsburg, 

Iowa Ethanol 0.02 25.02

tech- anaerobic 

digester Yes EH

Corn stover, 

switchgrass, 

MSW, wheat 

straw

LCFS, 

RFS2

Primus Green 

Energy Hillsborough NJ Eastern PA

Gasoline - 

Renewable 0.02 3.2

intend to break 

ground on 

commercial facility 

in 2013. Working 

with Bechtel woody biomass $40

Purevision 

Technology Fort Lupton CO

Fort Lupton, 

CO Ethanol

Broke ground on 

pilot plant July 

2012. multi-feedstock

REII

Diesel - 

Renewable 0.35 0.35 gasification woody biomass

Rentech Los Angeles CA

Commerce 

City, CO, 

White River, 

Ontario

Multiple - 

Renewable 0.15 23.15

Biomass 

gasification for 

renewable diesel 

and jet fuel FT multi-feedstock

Sapphire Energy San Diego CA Columbus, NM Crude Oil 0.02 1.02

Renewable crude 

oil for gasoline, 

diesel, and jet 

fuel. hydroprocessing algae $340*

Sierra Energy Davis CA

Sacramento, 

CA

Diesel - 

Renewable 0.37 gasification MSW

Siluria San Francisco CA

multiple Fuels - 

Renewable

oxidative 

coupling of 

methane natural gas $33

Solazyme

South San 

Francisco CA

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable 0.75 145 Yes hydroprocessing algae $121.91

Solena CA

Santa Clara, 

CA Aviation

Sundrop Fuels Louisville CO

Rapides 

Station, 

Louisiana 

(near 

Alexandria)

Gasoline - 

Renewable 0 50 gasification gasification woody biomass $217.3

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 31
Company City State Plant Location Type

Anticipated 

2012 

Capacity 

(Millions of 

Gallons)

Anticipated 

2015 

Capacity 

(Millions of 

Gallons) Note

Public 

Co? Technology Feedstock

Private 

Investment 

(Millions of 

Dollars)

RFS2/

LCFS 

Registered

Terrabon Port Arthur TX Bryan, TX

Gasoline - 

Renewable 1 20

received Logos 

contract for 

DARPA fuel

fermentation / 

chemprocessing MSW

$1.25 + 9.6 

from Logos

UOP (Honeywell) Washington DC

Multiple Fuels - 

Renewable

Envergent 

production 

counted 

under 

Ensyn

Many partnerships 

across industry. - 

building plant with 

Ensyn

Ag waste, pulp, 

paper, wood, 

energy crops 

and algae

US Envirofuels Riverview FL Highlands, FL Ethanol 36

Sugar-based 

ethanol

sugarcane and 

sweet sorghum

Virent Madison WI North America

renewable 

gasoline and 

chemicals 0.01 20.01

Plan to have 20 

MG facility come 

online in 2016

BioForming 

Process plant sugars $77

Woodland 

Biofuels TX Ethanol 1 1

enzymatic 

hydrolysis woody biomass $13.22

Zeachem Lakewood CO Boardman, OR Ethanol 0.25 25.25

ethanol (2012, 

demo scale and 

YE14 commercial 

scale), jet and 

diesel (2013, 

demo scale), 

gasoline (2015, 

demo scale)

fermentation and 

gasification

biomass: poplar 

trees and 

wheatstraw $64*

Zeropoint Potsdam NY

Gasoline - 

Renewable gasification woody biomass $4.62

74 Companies TOTAL 125.48 1760.17

All funding data provided by Cleantech Group, except direct company statements, which are denoted with a *.

The methodology E2 used to develop this list is detailed in Appendix H.

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012
 
 




 32
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 33

APPENDIX D 

Federal & Public Funding for Advanced Biofuel Projects 

Company Date Amount Investment Type Investors 

Abengoa Bioenergy 8/19/11 $133,900,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Aemetis 6/14/12 $1,875,528 Grant California Energy Commission 

Algenol Biofuels 11/18/10 $10,000,000 Grant Lee County Southwest Florida 

Algenol Biofuels 12/4/09 $25,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

American Process 08/2011 $4,000,000 Grant DOE, Michigan Econ Dev Corp

Archer Daniels Midland 06/2010 $22,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Bio Architecture Lab, Inc. 06/2010 $9,000,000 Matching Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

BioCee 10/26/09 $2,200,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Biodico 4/11/12 $2,000,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

Blue Marble Energy 11/23/09 $2,000,000 Grant Community Economic Revitalization Board 

BlueFire Renewables 01/2010 $88,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Cellana 5/6/11 $5,521,173 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Clean World Partners 6/14/12 $6,000,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

Cobalt & API 8/3/11 $18,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Coskata 1/21/11 $250,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Diamond Green Diesel 1/20/11 $241,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Energy (DOE) **

EdeniQ 6/14/12 $3,900,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

EdeniQ & Logos 12/4/09 $20,400,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Enerkem 12/2009 $50,000,000 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Enerkem 12/2010 $80,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Fiberight 01/2010 $2,500,000 Grant Iowa Power Fund

Fiberight 1/16/12 $25,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Fulcrum 8/13/12 105,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA

General Atomics 6/13/11 $2,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Genomatica 6/13/11 $5,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Gevo 9/28/11 $5,000,000 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

INEOS 1/18/12 $50,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

INEOS New Planet BioEnergy 8/19/11 $75,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

LanzaTech 6/22/11 $500,000 Grant DARPA 

LanzaTech 12/2/11 $3,000,000 Grant Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

LanzaTech 8/31/11 $4,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

LanzaTech 11/19/10 $500,000 Project Finance US Department of Energy (DOE) 

LS9 7/18/11 $9,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Mendota Advanced Bioenergy 11/2010 $3,000,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

Myriant Technologies 6/18/12 $25,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Myriant Technologies 6/18/12 $25,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

NextCAT 8/29/11 $500,000 Grant National Science Foundation 

OPX Biotechnologies 8/30/10 $6,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Pennycress Energy Company 9/30/10 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Pennycress Energy Company 10/24/11 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Phycal 7/23/10 $24,243,509 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

POET 7/7/11 $105,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Propel Fuels 6/1/12 $10,100,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

REII undisclosed US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Sapphire Energy 11/9/11 $135,000,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Sapphire Energy 12/7/09 $54,500,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Sapphire Energy 12/31/09 $50,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Sierra Energy 6/14/12 $5,000,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

Solazyme 8/4/09 $800,000 Grant California Energy Commission 

UOP 12/2/11 $1,100,000 Grant Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 34

UOP 3/3/10 $1,500,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Verenium 7/24/08 $5,400,000 Grant New Zealand Foundation for Research 

Verenium 4/22/10 $4,900,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Verenium 7/14/08 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Verenium 2/27/08 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Virent 12/2007 $5,000,000 Grant US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Virent Energy Systems 12/2/11 $1,500,000 Grant Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

Virent Energy Systems 6/13/11 $13,400,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

Virent Energy Systems 8/31/11 $4,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

ZeaChem 2/24/12 $12,000,000 Grant National Institute of Food and Agriculture 

ZeaChem 1/26/12 $232,500,000 Loan Guarantee US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

ZeaChem 5/14/10 $25,000,000 Grant US Department of Energy (DOE) 

TOTAL $1,770,740,210 

DOE total $730,043,509

USDA total $967,521,173

Other $73,175,528

** Diamond Green Diesel declined the loan guarantee offered by Department of Energy in 2011 in favor of 

project financing received from Valero Energy in May 2011.
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 35

APPENDIX E 

Feedstock Supplies for Advanced Biofuel Production 

Company City State Note Website

Algae.Tec Atlanta Georgia

algae production. 

Facility in Atlanta GA www.algaetec.com.au

AlgaeVenture 

Systems Marysville Ohio Algae producer

http://www.algaevs.co

m/products-technology

Aquatic Energy Lake Charles Louisiana Algae producer

www.aquaticenergy.co

m

ArborGen Summerville South Carolina Tree seedling provider www.arborgen.com

Aurora Algae Hayward California Algae producer www.auroraalgae.com

BioProcess Algae Portsmouth Rhode Island

Algae bioreactors and 

production. 5 acre 

facility at Green Plains 

site in IA

http://www.bioprocess

algae.com/

Bunge Saint Louis Missouri

Sugar production. Also 

makes ethanol in Brazil. http://bunge.com

Catchlight Energy California

Focused on feedstock 

and marketing/dist parts 

of supply chain, but will 

be moving into 

molecular conversion.

www.catchlightenergy.

com

Cellana Algae producer

Ceres Biofuels

Thousand 

Oaks California Many energy crops www.ceres.net

Chromatin Chicago Illinois

Sorghum development 

and production

http://www.chromatinin

c.com/

Comet Biorefining London Ontario

www.cometbiorefining.

com

Enova Energy 

Group Atlanta Georgia

Wood pellets to Europe 

from GA biorefinery. 

Projected online 2014.

www.enovaenergygro

up.com

Enviva Bethesda Maryland

wood pellets, facilities 

worldwide.

www.envivabiomass.c

om

Florida Crystals 

Corp

West Palm 

Beach Florida

www.floridacrystals.co

m

Kent Bioenergy San Diego California Algae producer

http://www.kentbioener

gy.com/

Mendota Advanced 

Bioenergy Fresno California

Sugar beets. was 

depending on CEC 

AB118 money to 

proceed.

Naturally Scientific Nottingham UK

Sugar and PVO 

production

http://www.naturallyscientific.com/

NexSteppe

South San 

Francisco California

Sorghum and 

switchgrass production www.nexsteppe.com

Parabel Melbourne Florida Biocrude

http://www.parabel.co

m

Pennycress Energy 

Company Peoria Illinois

pennycress seeds as a 

feedstock

www.growpennycress.

com

Power Stock Kennewick Washington

 biomass- energy 

harvest pellets

www.pacificpowerstoc

k.com

Proterro Ewing New Jersey

Sucrose production and 

photobioreactor system www.proterro.com

Renewed World 

Energies Georgetown South Carolina Algae producer www.rwenergies.com
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 36

Renmatix Kennesaw Georgia

Sugar production from 

biomass http://renmatix.com

SG Biofuels Encinitas California jatropha. 70 core jobs. www.sgbiofuels.com

Solix Fort Collins colorado

Algae production and 

extraction www.solixbiofuels.com

SunEco Energy Chino California Biocrude and SVO

http://sunecoenergy.co

m/index.cfm

Sweetwater Energy Rochester New York

Sugar from non-food 

sources; pilot in 

Rochester NY www.sweetwater.us 

TerViva San Francisco California renewable tree oil

http://www.terviva.com

/index.php

Virdia (former HCL 

Cleantech) Redwood City California

Working with Virent on 

aviation fuels project &

plans for MS 

commercial facility. virdia.com 

Xylowatt Belgium Syngas

http://www.xylowatt.co

m/en/

Yulex Corporation Carlsbad California Syngas from guayule http://www.yulex.com/

Enzyme and Chemical Supplies for Advanced Biofuel Production 

Company Type City State Note

AgriVida Enzymes Cambridge Massachusetts INzymeTM technology

BioAmber Chemicals Plymouth Minnesota

Blue Marble Energy Chemicals Seattle Washington

C5-6 Technologies Enzymes Middleton Wisconsin

Codexis Enzymes/Chemicals Redwood City California

cutting deal with Shell 

soon

DuPont Enzymes/Chemicals Wilmington Delaware

Acquired leading 

enzyme manufacturer 

Danisco in 2011

Dyadic Enzymes Jupiter Florida

Genomic research and 

enzymes

Elevance Renewable 

Sciences Chemical/Bio-oil Bollingbrook Illinois

facility in Natchez, MS. 

165 jobs.

Genencor

Enzymes and 

bioprocessing Rochester New York owned by DuPont

Genomatica Chemicals San Diego California

feedstocks include 

sugars and 

MSW/syngas

GlycosBio Chemicals Houston Texas

Metabolix Chemicals Cambridge Massachusetts

Myriant Chemicals Woburn Massachusetts

Bio-succinic acid. 

Facility being built in 

Lake Providence, LA

NextCAT Catalysts Detriot Michigan

for biodiesel 

production

Novozymes Enzymes Davis California

Rennovia Chemicals Menlo Park California

Segetis Chemicals Golden Valley Minnesota

Verenium Enzymes San Diego California

Vertichem Chemicals Toronto Ontario

Hardwood chip 

feedstock
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 37

Value Chain for Advanced Biofuel Production 

Company Type City State Note

Agradis Plant genomics La Jolla California

Founded by Synthetic 

Genomics. Sorghum 

genetics.

Agrisoma Biosciences Plant genomics Ottawa Ontario

Agricultural yield 

improvement 

technology

Allopartis 

Biotechnologies Plant genomics San Francisco California Protein development

Arisdyne Systems Technology Cleveland Ohio

Hydrodynamic 

cavitation

Avello Feedstock conversion Boone Iowa

Pyrolysis separation 

technology

Biocee

equipment and 

technology Minneapolis Minnesota biocatalytic reactor

Biodico Equipment Santa Barbara California

Construction/operation 

biorefineries. US Naval 

Base, Ventura County.

Biofine Related tech Gorham Maine

Biomass conversion 

technology

BioFuels Energy Biomethane Encinitas California

biomethane plant at 

San Diego Point Loma 

Wastewater Treatment 

Plant

Blendstar Distribution The Woodlands California

Renewable fuel 

terminals

Chemtex Technology Wilmington North Carolina

biomass processing 

technology. allows 

corn etoh facilities to 

be converted to 

cellulose. Working with 

COFCO. US 

production site in 

North Carolina in 

2014.

Clean Energy

Nat Gas - Compressed 

and Liquefied Seal Beach California

NG infrastructure and 

stations

Clean World Partners Natural Gas Sacramento California

Organic Waste 

Recycling Center in 

Sacto will produce 

renewable natural gas 

to be used in place of 

diesel

Fluor Engineering Irving Texas

Performs engineering 

services for companies 

like Joule and LS9. 

Foster Wheeler Technology Geneva Switzerland

Provides gasification 

technology for biofuels 

facilities, primarily 

using waste derived 

fuels.

Diversified Energy Technology Gilbert Arizona Gasification systems

Green Gas 

International BV Biogas Palm City Florida

methane gas to 

electricity

Greenline Industries Equipment Larkspur California

Biodiesel processing 

machinery

Imperative Energy Ltd Related tech Biomass boiler system
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 38

Inventure Technology Tuscaloosa Alabama

Direct Extraction 

Technology; Univ 

Alabama

KBR Technology Houston Texas

Offers technology 

development, plant 

scale-up, engineering, 

procurement, 

construction, 

operation, and 

maintenance services 

for biorefineries. 

Lallemand Yeasts Milwaukee Wisconsin

yeast and bacteria 

supplier

Linde Technology Munich Germany

A gas and engineering 

group, Linde is 

involved in the design 

and construction of 

pilot scale facilities

Mendel Biotechnology Plant genomics Hayward California

Nexterra Syngas Vancouver British Columbia

Biomass gasification 

with University of BC

Propel Fuels Distribution Sacramento California

recently began owned 

and operated facilities 

in addition to leasing 

space at stations

ProTec Fuel 

Management Distribution Boca Raton Florida

Ethanol marketing and 

distribution

Renmatix sugar refinement King of Prussia Pennsylvania

RenTech - ClearFuels Biomass gasification Honolulu Hawaii

biomass gasification. 

Paired with Rentech

synthetic fuel 

technology, can 

produce renewable 

fuels.

Sierra Energy Syngas Davis California

Biomass gasification. 

Project in Davis, CA.

Sylvatex Related tech San Francisco California

Microemulsion 

technology, integrates 

alcohol & fatty acid 

surfactant into diesel

SynGest technology San Francisco California biomass gasifier

Synthetic Genomics Plant genomics San Diego California

Exxon's main biofuel 

investment

Tenaska Energy

Distribution and 

marketing Omaha Nebraska

Verdezyne

technology & 

chemicals Carlsbad California

Enzymatic hydrolysis 

technology. Also 

producing chemicals

Ze-Gen Syngas Boston Massachusetts

Demo facility in New 

Bedford, Mass
E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 39

APPENDIX F 

Job Data (2012-2015) 

Reported Employment Predictions

Company

Projected 

Online

Capacity 

MGPY Direct Construction Indirect Feedstock

Abengoa 2013 25 65 300 34 woody biomass

Aemetis 2015 11 50

woodchips, crop 

residue or algae

American 

Process & 

Cobalt 2012 0.89 20 80 38

animal fat, used 

cooking oil

BlueFire 

Renewable 2013 19 50 500

BP- Vercipia 2015 36 200 700 MSW, ag residue

Cool Planet 2012 2 40

pre-commercial 

thinnings

Diamond Green 2013 140 52 630 cellulose

DuPont 

Cellulosic 

Ethanol 2013 27.5 60 corn stover

Dynamic Fuels 2010 75 65 250 wood waste

Enerkem 2013 9.5 40 130 energy cane

Enerkem 2014 10 40 130

animal fat, used 

cooking oil

Fiberight 2013 3.6 38

lignocellulosics,corn 

stover, switchgrass

Fulcrum 2014 10 50 MSW

Gevo 2012 18 33 MSW

Gevo 2013 37 42 MSW

INEOS Bio 2012 8 60 MSW

KiOR 2012 11 60 100

MascomaValero 2014 40 50 150 700Hardwood 

pulpwood

POET 2013 25 40 350 corn cobs

RenTech 2015 23 83 1000 300 woody biomass

Sapphire 

Energy 2014 1 30 algae

Sundrop Fuels 2014 50 150 1150 woody biomass

US Envirofuels 2014 36 60

sweet sorghum and 

sugarcane

ZeaChem 2014 25 65 188 242

planted trees and 

wheatstraw
40

APPENDIX G

International Companies

Company Country Plant Location(s) Fuel Type Feedstock Description

Abengoa Spain US, Brazil, Spain, 

France, Holland

Biodiesel, 

Ethanol

Sugar Cane 

(Ethanol); Vegetable 

Oils (Biodiesel); 

Algae (R&D)

With 14 plants in 5 different countries and a global production capacity of 842 MG per 

year, Abengoa Bioenergy is one of the world's largest biofuel producers. It produces 

400 MG in Spain, France and Holland, 370 MG in the US, and 62 MG in Brazil. 

Abengoa also continues to invest heavily in R&D. While its current bioethanol facilities 

use sugar cane and corn, it also began investing in algae biofuels in 2009 and in 2011, 

began construction on an algae pilot facility in Cartagena. 

Amyris US, Brazil San Martino, BrazilRenewable 

Diesel; Jet Fuel

Sugar Cane 

(*Amyris' synthetic 

biology platform is 

multi feedstock)

Amyris produces renewable diesel in Brazil and has a US subsidiary, Amyris Fuels, to 

distribute its product to North American markets. At present, Amyris operates pilot and 

demonstration facilities and is building a commercial scale production facility in San 

Martino, Brazil. Furthermore, Amyris is partnering with Total to develop an alternative 

aviation jet fuel to be sold in US, European and Brazilian markets. 

Beta 

Renewables

Italy Crescentino, Italy; 

North Carolina, US 

Ethanol Wheat Straw Beta Renewables is a $350 million joint venture between Chemtex and TPG. The 

company operates a pilot plant in Tortona, Italy (2009) and plans to start commercial 

scale production in 2012 at its 20 MG plant in North Carolina. Beta Renewable's 

PROESA technology has been chosen by multiple leaders in the biofuel market, 

including Genomatica, Amyris and Codexis. 

Borregaard Norway Sarpsborg, 

Norway

Ethanol Woody Biomass Borregaard produces advanced biochemicals, biomaterials and bioethanol that can 

replace oil-based products. In 2011, the company had a production capacity of 17-19 

million liters at its Norway plant. Extensive investment in research and development 

combined with sales offices in 17 countries throughout Europe, the US, Asia and Africa 

makes Borregaard well positioned to support the growing global biofuel market. 

Bunge Bermuda 

(HQ in US)

Sao Paulo and 

Minas Gerais, 

Brazil (8 plants)

Ethanol 

(*markets 

biodiesel)

Sugar Cane 

(ethanol) 

Bunge operates eight sugarcane mills in Brazil with a combined capacity of 1.1 million 

cubic meters per year. These mills have access to export logistics systems, positioning 

Bunge to support the growing global biofuel market. In addition, Bunge also 

participates in the biodiesel industry, normally as a minority investor in facilities in 

Argentina, the US and Europe. Facility with Solazyme coming online in Moema, Brazil 

in 2013 with capacity of 100,000 metric tons of oil.

Ensyn US Ontario, Italy, 

Malaysia

RTP Liquids Biomass Ensyn Corporation produces over 30 million gallons per year of liquid fuels that can be 

upgraded to transportation fuels. Ensyn is currently initiating a significant build-out of 

capacity in North America and internationally for the production of Renewable Fuel Oil 

(RFO). Furthermore, the company has developed a key strategic alliance with UOP, a 

Honeywell Company and Chevron Technology Ventures. 

Inbicon

DONG

Denmark Kalundborg, 

Denmark

 Ethanol Wheat Straw Inbicon invests in R&D and currently operates a large scale pilot plant in Denmark that 

is capable of producing 8,250 tonnes of biofuel per year, Inbicon has also engineered 

a model that can convert about 50 MT/hr of straw or stover into 20 MG of ethanol and 

is working to license their process for world markets.

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
41

LanzaTech US Soperton, Georgia Ethanol Multi (wheat straw, 

corn stover, 

miscanthus)

Founded in New Zealand in 2005 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, LanzaTech 

has developed a gas-liquid fermentation process that produces fuels and chemicals 

from gas resources. LanzaTech is active in the US, China and New Zealand and is 

expanding to commercial scale through its Freedom Pines Biorefinery in Soperton, 

Georgia. 

Neste Finland Porvoo, Finland (2 

plants); Singapore; 

Rotterdam, 

Netherlands

 Biodiesel, Jet 

Fuel

Vegetable Oils Annual production capacity of 2 million tones biodiesel. The company sells its 

renewable fuels to mainly European and US markets but also has an established 

network of oil retail stations throughout Europe (819 outlets in Finland, 326 outlets in 

Russia, the Baltic states and Poland). To date, the company has invested a total of 

EUR 1.5 billion in expanding its biodiesel production capacity and recently 

commissioned its fourth plant in 2011. Its four plants are capable of producing both 

renewable diesel and aviation fuel. 

Petrobras Brazil Candeias (state of 

Bahia), Quixadá 

(state of Ceará), 

and Montes Claros 

(state of Minas 

Gerais

Ethanol; 

Biodiesel

Multi Feedstock 

(biodiesel); Sugar 

cane (ethanol)

Petrobras has three biodiesel plants in Brazil with total production capacity of 170,000 

cubic meters per year. In addition to producing biodiesel, Petrobras is active in the 

ethanol market and aims to export 4.2 million cubic meters of ethanol in 2013. Their 

ethanol production model is based on partnerships to build Bioenergetic Complexes 

(CBio) which will produce electric energy from burning sugarcane bagasse. Petrobras 

is particularly well positioned to support global biofuel market through its efforts to 

expand its ethanol pipeline systems, which will connect refineries to the Ilha d'Águai n 

Rio de Janeiro, and the São Sebastião terminal, in São Paulo.

Praj Industries India India, Malawi, 

Thailand, 

Louisiana, US, El 

Salvador, Sri 

Lanka

Biodiesel, 

Ethanol

Sugarcane, beet, 

grains (wheat, corn, 

sorghum, broken 

rice, and triticale), 

tubers 

Praj is a global Indian company with offices in India, Europe, Asia, Africa and North 

America. It has one of the largest resource bases in the industry with active ethanol 

plants in multiple countries. Praj is currently aiming to scale up its advanced ethanol 

production

Statoil Norway Mestilla, Lithuania Biodiesel Rapeseed, cereals, 

sugar cane, algae 

(R&D)

Having been active in the biofuel market since 1999, Statoil is an established player in 

the global biofuel market. Statoil is responsible for marketing and distributing the 

biodiesel from the Lithuanian Mestilla plant, which has an annual capacity of 100,000 

tonnes. Today Statoil it sells its bioethanol product at 1300 stations in six countries – 

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Also in 2007, Statoil entered 

into a long-term strategic agreement with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras in an 

effort to develop the international value chain for biofuel, both in production and 

trading. In 2010, Statoil became the first company in the world to offer second 

generation biofuels to a national network. 

The methodology E2 used to develop this list is detailed in Appendix H.

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Appendix H

E2 Methodology to develop lists and production numbers

E2 | Environmental Entrepreneurs

Advanced Biofuel Market Report 2012 42

Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix E Appendix G

Biodiesel Facilities Potential Producers Supply chain International

From NBB, take RFS2 

registered biodiesel

Began with E2 data 

from 2011 report

Began with E2 data 

from 2011 report

Began with E2 data 

from 2011 report

Reviewed all 

international 

companies with 

facilities registered 

with RFS2

Feedstock carbon 

intensity identified 

according to CARB's 

pathways 

EPA list for RFS2 

production data

Updated with 

production information 

from Hart Energy, 

EPA and financial data 

from Cleantech Group

Went through all 

company websites 

and reviewed recent 

press releases

Based on existing 

facilities and 

partnerships, 

developed subjective 

list of companies

Filtered out facilities 

with feedstock less 

than 50% reduction, 

but left "MultiFeedstock", for their 

ability to blend low 

carbon alternatives 

Merged previous E2 

list with Hart Energy 

list of facilities

Changed company 

projections based on 

recent press releases

Added companies 

from hundreds of 

press releases

Qualitative list of 

companies that could 

have a strong U.S. 

presence

Contrasted with 

Biofuels Digest 

database

Contacted companies 

directly to verify data

Reviewed websites 

and contacted 

companies for notes 

and data

Went through all 

company websites 

and reviewed recent 

press releases

Assumed zero 

production for 

companies without 

any data verification, 

or public signs of 

progress or financing

Contacted companies 

directly to verify data

Projects for which 

there are not concrete 

plans, but could still 

happen are listed 

under Potential 

Producers

Merged with 

information from 

Cleantech Group on 

investment