The termite’s blessing: ZeaChem finds more support
Poor termites. They’ll have no part in the ZeaChem facilities that may someday pump out millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol, even though it’s the humble bug’s legacy that allowed it all to happen. Lakewood, Colo.-based ZeaChem has raised $34 million more for its process, the most important step of which uses a microorganism from the termite’s digestive tract to break down wood and similar materials into fuel.
ZeaChem chief executive Jim Imbler thinks he’s starting… Continue Reading
ZeaChem’s cellulosic ethanol process ready to leave the lab, enter pilot testing
In less than a year, cellulosic ethanol startup ZeaChem has raced through preliminary pilot testing in a tiny Silicon Valley pilot plant, and now plans to build a larger facility in Oregon.
Experts consider cellulosic ethanol one of the most promising technologies for helping to reduce global warming, but the technology is still unproven, and there’s a race on to be first to commercial production. The challenge is to make it cost-competitive with oil.
We first mentioned… Continue Reading
Alternative energy companies keep coming: Zeachem, Catilin, Range Fuels, Sopogy
A host of new alternative energy companies have emerged and raised funding.
Here’s a roundup of the latest action, including news at Zeachem, a cellulosic ethanol company; Catilin, a biodiesel company, Range Fuels, another cellulosic company; Sopogy, a solar thermal company; and finally, a note on Greenvolts, a solar company, and a setback at Greenfuel, an algae-biofuel company.
Zeachem — The company, of Menlo Park, Calif. has developed new way to create cellulosic ethanol, which is… Continue Reading