Bio-based fuel sources have become interesting local and regional investments, but how viable are biofuels as a long-term energy source? This panel will cover established biofuel sources like ethanol and biodiesel as well as emerging feedstocks like woody biomass, cellulose, and algae-based fuel systems. Panelists will share their experiences in biofuel technology, as well as their forecasts for the future market size, scaleability and challenges facing biofuel development and growth.
Moderator:
Dr. Larry P. Walker, Professor, Cornell UniversityPanelists:
Doug Cameron, Chief Science Advisor, Piper Jaffray Investment Management
Michael Gilbert, VP Strategy & Business Development, Global Green Solutions
Maro Imirzian, Vice President, Finance, Catchlight Energy LLC
Mark Stowers, Vice President of Science & Technology, POET
2009 Net Impact Conference – (Can Biofuels deliver?).
Key takeaways from the moderated discussion included importance of diversification in energy sources (i.e., justifying the need to continue to research corn and algae-based ethanol production), understanding scale issues (taking an idea from the lab beaker to commercial industrial scale), and how the success of biofuels is as much a supply chain problem as it is a technology (research & development) problem.
David Mantilla 