(January 13, 2010) — Recovery Act Announcement: Secretary Chu Announces Nearly $80 Million Investment for Advanced Biofuels Research and Fueling Infrastructure

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the investment of nearly $80 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure that will help support the development of a clean sustainable transportation sector. The selections announced today—two biofuels consortia for up to $78 million to research algae-based and advanced biofuels—are part of the Department’s continued effort to spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry while creating jobs.

“Advanced biofuels are crucial to building a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can bring new biofuels to the market and develop a cleaner and more sustainable transportation sector. This investment will help spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry, while creating jobs and reducing our dependence […]

(Des Plaines, IL, Jan. 12, 2010) Honeywell’s UOP Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant for Conversion of Waste Biomass to Green Transportation Fuels

DES PLAINES, Ill., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE:HON) company, announced today it has been selected for negotiation of a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build a demonstration unit in Hawaii to convert cellulosic biomass into green transportation fuels.

As part of the DOE’s effort to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry and create new jobs, this project will use cellulosic biomass feedstocks like forestry and agricultural residuals or algae residuals to produce the liquid biofuel pyrolysis oil, which will then be upgraded into green transportation fuels.

The demonstration plant, which will be built at the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Kapolei, Hawaii, is expected to start up in 2014.

“As we continue to […]

(Washington, D.C. Oct. 14, 2009) – Small biotechnology companies developing new medical therapies and advanced biofuels need help attracting new capital, as investors have become especially risk averse. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today conveyed support for the Small Business Early-Stage Investment Act of 2009, which would create a funding program at the Small Business Administration to stimulate growth in early-stage technology-based companies.

In testimony before the House Small Business Committee, Martin Sabarsky, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of HR BioPetroleum, Inc., said on behalf of BIO:

“Private equity and capital markets are increasingly failing to fund promising, early-stage scientific research, primarily because it is viewed as too high-risk relative to other investment opportunities. This critical phase of commercial development is often referred to as the ‘Valley of Death’ within the biotechnology industry, given the potential for companies and technologies at this stage of their existence literally to die for […]

(Honolulu, HI, Apr. 17, 2009) Governor Linda Lingle today named three recipients of the Governor’s Innovation Awards for their commitment to creative thinking and new ideas which result in better products, services and processes, while also improving Hawaii’s future.

Through disruptive ideas, as one of our award winners refers to innovation, this latest group of innovators is helping us all realize the importance of looking beyond what’s always been done, and striving for how we can do things better, said Governor Lingle. As these award winners demonstrate, innovation can be something as simple as using native plants to landscape our roadways, to more leading-edge development of new technologies that can restore people’s sight or generate valuable products from marine algae.

The recipients of the Governor’s Innovation Award for February 2009 are as follows:

Innovation by an Individual: Hank Wuh

In 2003, Hank Wuh founded Cellular Bioengineering Inc. (CBI), a Hawaii-based developer of technologies with […]

(Honolulu, HI, Jul. 15, 2008) — HR BioPetroleum, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALEX), Hawaiian Electric Company and Maui Electric Company, subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE), today announced that they have signed memoranda of understanding to pursue the joint development of a commercial-scale microalgae facility on Maui to produce lipid oil for conversion to biodiesel and other valuable products, such as animal feed.

Under the agreements:

HR BioPetroleum will be responsible for overall project management, including obtaining financing, and construction and operation of the microalgae facility.

Alexander & Baldwin will provide strategically located land, adjacent to Maui Electric’s Ma’alaea Power Plant, to site the algae production ponds and processing plant, and may provide equity capital to the project.

Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric companies will lead in determining the permitting and construction needs for piping to carry stack gases containing carbon dioxide, which the algae consume, from the Ma’alaea plant to […]

(Honolulu, HI, Jun. 30, 2008)–HR BioPetroleum (HRBP), a renewable bioenergy company based in Hawaii, has named Ed Shonsey as CEO and a member of its board of directors. He has been authorized to set and implement an aggressive new corporate strategy which will complement HRBP’s recent alliance with Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The University of Hawaii and CEROS of Hawaii have also joined forces with the company to make algal bioenergy solutions a reality and to mitigate CO2 emissions from the air. HRBP was founded by two renowned University of Hawaii scientists, Dr. Mark Huntley and Dr. C.Barry Raleigh who are also members of the Board.

Shonsey has strong, in-depth leadership experience in transforming technology into commercial products across public and private companies. He was most recently CEO of Diversa Corporation (NASDAQ), a world leader in specialty enzymes and bioenergy solutions. He has also held executive positions with Syngenta Seeds Inc., […]

(Honolulu, HI, Jun. 28, 2008)– A state better known for sun and fun is quietly morphing into one of the world’s leading incubators of alternative energy… Wall Street Journal