Hot Biofuels Company - A Profile of Coskata, Inc

Based in Warrenville, Illinois, biofuels industry leader Coskata says that with its technology the company can produce ethanol from just about any organic material. Even better, Coskata says it is able to do so for less than per gallon. This claim, and generous backing from venture capitalists and the likes of General Motors, gave Coskata the number one ranking from Biofuels Digest in its list of the 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy.

Unlike most of its ethanol-focused competitors, the Coskata approach is not based on improved cellulosic conversion to fermentable sugars. Rather, Coskata uses already available chemical technology for converting mixed agricultural and municipal waste into a synthesis gas, which consists mainly of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen.

Biotechnology

Then second step is the biological one, relying on the microbial bioconversion of the synthesis gas to ethanol. Coskata claims it produces "99.7% pure ethanol" with its microbe and process, although of course, every other method can also produce 99.7% pure ethanol once the ethanol is refined and distilled. A distinct advantage of the Coskata technology is the use of non-food raw materials, avoiding the problem of diverting food crops to fuels or the crowding out of food crops with fuel crops.

Hot Biofuels Company - A Profile of Coskata, Inc

Coskata's process would produce ethanol from agricultural waste like corn stalks and wheat straw. Another advantage is that Coskata's method for producing ethanol avoids the "negative energy" comparisons that have been so glibly bandied about. Using already available waste means no additional energy cost for growing and harvesting the raw materials it will use as a feedstock, and therefore, Coskata calculates that its ethanol provides 7.7 times the energy required to produce it.

Whether or not this is strictly true, on paper Coskata's process looks far more efficient than corn-based ethanol production.

As for revenues, Coskata has nothing of significance on the horizon. The company's first pilot plant won't be running until the end of 2009 at the earliest, and it will only produce about 40,000 gallons per year. At per gallon, that is a pretty poor return on the approximately 0 million invested. But Coskata claims that the sky is the limit on its future potential, which is why all the money has flowed in from investors in the first place. The first commercial-scale plant producing 100 million gallons per year is scheduled for 2011, and if the company meets that milestone, the future for Coskata will be highly liquid-both with green fuel and greenbacks. 

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David Rozzell maintains a web site and blog dedicated to the latest developments and news in biofuels, biocatalysis, and industrial biotechnology. For informative, sometimes amusing, always opinionated analysis go to http://www.bio-catalyst.com Contact him at david@bio-catalyst.com.

A Biofuels Company Without a Bioprocess - Range Fuels

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Range Fuels likes to shine a spotlight on itself. With a tag-line of "Inventing the New Oil" you are bound to garner some attention. Even better is the statement that its most important client is "our planet" - not you the consumer, but good old Mother Earth. An entire section of the company's web site is dedicated to awards that Range Fuels has won. And that's not all. The web site quotes Albert Einstein and seeks to educate the masses about the virtues of ethanol with a tutorial called "Ethanol 101." Broomfield, Colorado-based Range Fuels is certainly comfortable with hyperbole. The question is whether they will be able to back it up with results.

Range Fuels has been able to raise substantial sums of money: approximately $200 million combined from venture capitalists like Khosla Ventures and loan guarantees from the USDA. So, what is all the excitement about? Range Fuels has a technology similar to that of fellow biofuels high-flyer Coskata. Cellulosic waste is converted into synthesis gas using existing technology involving heat, pressure and steam.  Then, the resulting synthesis gas is then converted into ethanol using other chemical catalysts. There is no bioconversion involved at any stage of the process. In other words, there is nothing biological about Range Fuel's process for generating ethanol. In this case, the only part that is "bio" is the feedstock. Raw materials include wood, sawdust, corn stover (the stalk left after the corn is harvested), paper pulp, hog manure, switchgrass, eucalyptus-in short, most any agricultural waste product or even energy crops grown specifically for producing fuels. But what happens to all the waste that does not end up as ethanol? The company doesn't say anything about that.

We will have some idea about the potential for Range Fuels' technology soon. The first pilot plant establishing feasibility of its fully integrated thermo-chemical conversion to ethanol has been operating at the Colorado-based development center since Quarter 1, 2008. The first demonstration plant is scheduled for completion in Soperton, GA later in 2009, using cellulose as the feedstock.  Full-scale production is planned to start up in 2010. The company's business model calls for designing, building, and operating its plants, so Range Fuels will need to capture a healthy percentage of the fuel ethanol market and be cost competitive to earn a reasonable return on the already substantial investment. With fuel prices already substantially lower than they were a year ago, the technology will need to be very good just for Range Fuels to survive.

David Rozzell maintains a web site and blog dedicated to the latest developments and news in biofuels, biocatalysis, and industrial biotechnology. For informative, sometimes amusing, always opinionated analysis go to http://www.bio-catalyst.com Contact him at david@bio-catalyst.com.

7 Tips on How to Generate More Contractor Leads - Do You Want to Keep Your Company From Going Under?

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1 - Word Of Mouth - This is definitely the way I generate most of my business. Always remember that your quality of work reflects you and will go long way in ensuring you have a successful future. I find that a happy customer will gladly recommend you to their family and friends (sometimes they are even excited to) and those recommendations will only lead to more and more business. Just remember that an unhappy customer will absolutely let their family and friends know about you, and you don't want that!

2 - Advertise - Now this doesn't have to mean billboards or full page ads in the yellow pages which if you have ever looked into can be quite costly. There are usually great small scale local adverts to put your name in they are budget friendly and in my experience I believe people find them more trustworthy than bigger publications.

3 - Ask What the Customer Needs - There have been many times I have done a job for someone lets say some carpentry and just during conversation they will learn of another one of my skills I can't tell you how often I've heard the phrase "Wow you do that too" and it has easily led me to another job and therefore more money.

4 - The Business Card - This may be one of the most important tools for generating more jobs although technically it is a form of advertising I think it deserves it's own spot. I always made sure I had a stack of business cards with me either tucked into my wallet, toolbox or glove box. You never know when or where you will run into a prospective client and being able to readily hand them your card I believe shows a level of professionalism they appreciate. Make sure your cards have all of your contact info i.e. phone number, website (if you have one) and email address (I get a lot of correspondence through email) and make sure cards clearly define what services you offer. It also may help if you add a company slogan something your customer can remember and identify you with like "No Job Too Small" or "Let Us Get It Done" or whatever you want.

5 - Do Some Legwork - I can assure you no one is going to knock on your door and offer you a job get out there and pound some pavement. Sometimes on a nice day I will just take a walk knock on some doors and introduce myself to people (just don't be too intrusive nobody wants to listen to a ten minute sales pitch while they are eating lunch). Just be friendly and to the point I often did this after I finished or during a job I would visit a few neighbors and let them know who I was and what I do. Chances are they will ask there neighbor about my work (that's where number 1 comes in). Or I have a yard sale addiction and people are always looking to make conversation at a yard sale nothing better than getting some great used stuff and a lead on some work (in my opinion).

5 - A Thank You For A Referral - If a previous customer of mine gave out a referral for me I would make sure to say thank you. Depending on the size of the referred job this could be a simple thank you card a gift basket or a discount on future services (some of my customers had repeat maintenance type business) people will appreciate the thanks and I believe be more apt to give you a referral in the future.

6 - Take Advantage Of Your Resources - Some programs found on the internet can be well worth their value. Sometimes a little investment can go a long way. Remember the more new leads you can generate the more word of mouth business you will get and that equals more jobs in the future.

7 - Estimate Your Time And Value Correctly - Although not really a way to generate leads nothing is worse than realizing you have underbid a job and customers don't appreciate if you say estimate a week and it turns into a month. I can admit these things have happened to me and I can tell you I did not feel good about working for less money than I deserved (although I stuck to my price) and the job that ran too long well they may have been satisfied with the quality of work they received but it did not lead to any other jobs for me.

Don't give up on your dream of being your own boss. You can keep your company going. There are programs available to help you get the job leads that you are looking for. If you want a 100% guaranteed way to get more contractor leads than check out My Blog!