[Biodiesel News] 'Bioeconomy' pioneers take aim at fossil fuels

'Bioeconomy' pioneers take aim at fossil fuels

Lansing State Journal - Lansing,MI,USA

... In the past nine months, nine ethanol or biodiesel plants have opened, started construction or announced plans to build in Michigan. ...

 

Times weren't that different when MBI International got its footing 25 years ago.

 

Oil prices had skyrocketed. There was tension in the Middle East. U.S. auto companies were on the ropes, getting beaten by their Japanese competitors.

 

"So MBI was part of a response to that," Mark Stowers, president and chief executive officer of the Lansing business incubator and research organization, said Wednesday. The nonprofit was founded in 1981 to help diversify the state's economy.

 

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Then the Michigan Biotechnology Institute, it helped create new plant-based chemicals and products to replace petroleum. Moderating prices, however, shifted attention back to oil.

 

But there's buzz again about the so-called "bioeconomy." Across the state, businesses that specialize in bio-based materials and fuels are springing up in response to a new spike in oil prices.

 

The fledging sector already is beginning to reshape Michigan agriculture and manufacturing, according to researchers, business interests and public policy officials gathered Wednesday at the Lansing Center for the inaugural Michigan Bio-Economy Summit.

 

Among the advancements is the growth of alternative fuels. In the past nine months, nine ethanol or biodiesel plants have opened, started construction or announced plans to build in Michigan.

 

The state could go from exporting most of its corn by rail to fermenting much of the crop for automobile fuel in just a few years, said Jim Byrum, executive director of the Michigan Agri-Business Association.

 

"It's happening and it's happening aggressively," he said.

 

Byrum and other industry officials hope the two-day summit, attended by more than 250 people, can help bring together farmers, businesses and government officials to better position Michigan to take advantage of the bioeconomy.

 

Officials plan a follow-up event for early next year.

 

Significant hurdles still remain to make many bio-based products as good as their oil-based counterparts, industry officials admit.

 

And even though oil prices have been on the rise, many bio-based industries - including ethanol and biodiesel - are heavily subsidized to make them profitable.

 

But the effort now is laying the groundwork for the United States to eventually replace petroleum, most of which it must import, said Carl Lira, a Michigan State University associate professor working to develop new bio-based materials.

 

"It's critical that we start investing in raw materials we have control over," he said.

 

And this time around - unlike 25 years ago - the problem of high oil prices is not expected to go away, MBI's Stowers said.

 

Stowers, who joined MBI five years ago, hopes that helps his nonprofit market its portfolio. MBI, a subsidiary of MSU, has 50 patents and another 30 in the works. It's working with six high-tech startups and has filled its 120,000-square-foot research and development center.

 

"Since January, we've never been busier," he said. "We have calls from companies in Europe, the U.S. and Asia on a regular basis."  

 

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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/21/2006 05:41:00 AM