Biofuels/Biochemicals

Sapphire Energy, which converts algae into synthetic crude oil, raised $144 million in one of the biggest clean tech deals in the past 12 months.

Two U.S. clean tech companies have gone public as the industry hopes high energy prices and better technology will make investors forget the sector's recent struggles.

A new Pike Research consumer sentiment survey covering 13 clean tech concepts reveals that consumer support for clean energy has declined significantly since 2009, with Biofuels suffering the biggest decline in favorability.

Primus, a N.J. based renewable gas developer, received a $12mm investment from Israeli based IC Green Energy Ltd., and expects to raise up to $100mm this year.

Over the next 10 years, Clean Edge predicts that venture capital investments in wind and biofuel industries will grow to $385.8 billion. Clean Edge also identified 5 key trends that it thinks will greatly affect clean energy markets in the coming years.

Berkeley, Calif.-based Bio Architecture Lab Inc., a company that transforms seaweed into biofuels, will open a pilot plant in Chile.

In a new report, BP states that wind, solar and biofuel consumption will outpace demand for fossil fuels over the next 20 years, rising from 1 percent to 6 percent of total energy output. It states that, through 2030, global renewables consumption will grow at 8.2 percent per year versus a 2.1 percent annual gain for natural gas.

Iowa based biodiesel fuel company Renewable Energy Group Inc , is set to go public on Thursday and will be the first U.S. initial public offering in 2012.

Some biofuel companies, which create oil from nonfood sources such as algae and wood, have found a new market in the specialty chemicals industry.

To see which companies are best positioned to prosper, Lux Research applied the Lux Innovation Grid to rate technology developers in the alternative fuels field. This report includes interviews with over 450 stakeholders in the following categories: pretreatment, bioprocessing, gasification, pyrolysis, torrefaction, catalytic conversion, crop modification, algae cultivation, and other technologies.