By Bryan Sims | January 03, 2012/Israel-based Evogene Ltd. has launched a wholly owned subsidiary, Evofuel Ltd., to accelerate the development and commercialization of castor bean varieties in Brazil for biodiesel and biojet fuel production, as well as to expand biofuel research and development activities located in Israel.

According to a statement released by Evogene, the impetus behind establishing the subsidiary is due to the need for diversifying feedstock supply to fulfill worldwide demand of biodiesel, which currently relies mainly on edible oils such as soybeans and canola. Leer más »

Skies may be filled with algae.Bilal Bomani and salicornia in the Green Lab at NASA Glenn Research Center  In The Region: Scientists at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland may have tied the future of space exploration to sub-aquatic life. 

When it comes to energy, there’s always something new under the sun.  Except for solar power, which has always been under the sun.  NASA Glenn Researcher Bilal Bomani has been working on a process to use biofuel as an alternative energy source for commercial aviation. Leer más »

Fruits of J. curcas. Fruits are produced terminally in the branches, and each fruit contains three seeds. Image credit: Dr. Wagner A Vendrame, University of Florida at Homestead.

 What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That’s what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station.

The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter. Jatropha is known to produce high quality oil that can be converted into an alternative energy fuel, or biofuel(biodiesel). Leer más »