by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Survive — First-Gen ethanol producers. So-so. Corn prices have fallen, and though margins have been compressed and gone negative in some cases, balance sheets remain strong and the margin outlook is improving and positive news from the US on Renewable Fuel Standard may provide a big boost. …
Biodiesel producers. So-so. Margins are negative now, but many companies received a balance sheet booster via long-delayed tax credits that recently went through. …
Industrial sugars. Pretty good, all in all — low-cost inputs are more popular than ever. …
Thrive
Renewable diesel. It all looks pretty good. …
Butanol. Another one that is looking surprisingly strong. …
Oil major support. Lux sees it very strong. …
Aviation Biofuels. We see it moving strongly. US Navy support is propelling Fulcrum, Red Rock and Emerald. …
Jive
Synthetic biology and algae. There’s been a seismic shift towards chemicals and nutraceuticals. …
Gasification. We’ve seen a number of players switch to methane. …
Take Five
Cellulosic developers. Lux observes that a number of companies have delayed planned commercialization efforts. And we’ve seen one-time high-flyers like Cobalt and Mascoma go into stealth mode. Plus, several cellulosic biofuels producers with high-profile openings in recent months and years have taken this period of time to optimize production rather than produce a whole bunch of gallons. So, we’ve not seen much produced by INEOS Bio, Abengoa, POET-DSM, GranBio or Beta Renewables while they go through extended shakedowns. And it’s been tough sledding for cellulosic producers to find backers, despite attractive returns from good proposed projects, READ MORE Access Lux report