“A renewable chemical and biofuel production method developed by a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Ron Raines has been licensed to the company he founded.

Raines, a biochemistry professor, has established Hyrax Energy Inc., which will license the technology from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the patent and licensing arm of UW-Madison.”

A University of Wisconsin-Madison chemical engineer and his team have developed a new process that uses water, electricity and biomass to make biofuels.

The team developed a technology that uses a fuel cell to convert the compound acetone from biomass into isopropanol, a chemical that’s used as a gasoline additive as well as pharmaceutical and industrial applications.

“It’s what we call electrofuel,” said George Huber, a UW professor of chemical and biological engineering. The technology, he said, creates a “renewable liquid fuel that fits into the existing infrastructure.”

To read more about the team’s research, click here.

Ford and General Motors Inc. have approved use of a higher concentration of ethanol fuel in new vehicles — a significant victory for the biofuels industry.

New GM and Ford vehicles will accept a fuel blend that’s 15 percent ethanol, as opposed to the standard 10 percent blend. For GM, that will begin with 2012 models, while Ford will accommodate the fuel in 2013 models, according to Oil Price Information Service, which first reported the news.

“Into the Outdoors” may be found on multiple Wisconsin channels. Madison channel WKOW TV-27 on Saturdays at 6:30am, Green Bay channel WFRV TV-5 on Saturdays at 11:00am, Wausau channel WAOW TV-9 on Sundays at 10:00am and Milwaukee channel WITI TV-6 on Sundays at 10:30am.

Check out a clip from Didion’s episode, click here.

G-20 nations spent a $160 billion supporting the production of fossil fuels and its consumption last year alone. To continue spending on an increasingly inefficient fuel source will only further set the US back in becoming an energy independent nation.

Though aid for renewable energy projects rose 10 percent, the US faces significant hurdles building a competitive energy market if fossil fuels continue to receive large government subsidies. Whereas Europe and China are making strides in building competitive renewable energy markets, at the current pace, the IEA predicts the US renewable energy market will need aid until at 2035.

To read more about International Energy Agency’s report, click here.

Click here to check it out.

Preceding the film’s premiere a press conference will take place at 2pm ET. The debate and Q&A hosted by Dennis McGinn, retired Vice Admiral and President of the American Council on Renewable Fuels, will include filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell as well as General Wesley Clark, who ranked at a four-star general and director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chief of Staffs.

“Freedom” covers a wide range on our country’s oil issues ranging from last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion, Keystone XL pipeline, and the economic impact of foreign oil on American citizens. The film also highlights a path to long-term sustainable path to domestic fuel.

To learn more about “Freedom,” click here. Or, check out the trailer here.

The one hundred percent renewable fuel produced by Virent was recently tested at US Air Force Laboratory as a result of a strong push by the Pentagon to depend less of foreign fuels. The chemical conversion process which Virent uses to produce its biofuel was developed in the labs of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Aaron Imrie, Virent’s commercial fuels manager, expressed his excitement over the results from US Air Force by stating:

“These ARFL results are exciting because they demonstrate the potential of Virent’s catalytic process to create renewable plant-based jet fuel that can meet or exceed petroleum.”

Earlier this year, the US Air Force completed a test flight using a 50-50 blend of petroleum and a biofuel derived from camelina. Honeywell also announced this summer the first successful trans-Atlantic flight using the same biofuel-petroleum blend.

To read more about Virent’s biofuel success, click here.

Or, to learn about Virent, click here.