Codexis

The world’s major stock markets and clean energy indices were mostly down this week as Americans headed into the Memorial Day long weekend. The only exception was the EnergyBoom Biofuel Subindex (E•B Biofuel) which increased 1% for the week.

Shares of Canadian-listed penny stock CO2 Solution, Inc. (CDNX: CST.V) jumped more than 60% (to Cdn$0.28 per share, market cap Cdn$17 million) in early trading today after Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) reiterated a previously announced carbon capture technology pilot collaboration with CO2 and Codexis, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDXS).

Stock markets rose today despite the Japanese earthquake, but they failed to overcome the mid-week worries about increasing gasoline prices damaging the fragile economic recovery. 

U.S. stock markets and all overseas markets finished the week in negative territory. Indices reflecting the clean and efficient energy sectors were also down, with solar companies faring the worst.

Here are two very different advanced biofuel strategies: Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) is producing algae from byproducts at one of its commercial ethanol plants to make biodiesel, and Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS) is developing biocatalysts to produce advanced biofuel and pharmaceuticals and to remove carbon from smokestacks.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) and Brazilian giant, Cosan SA (NYSE: CZZ), the world’s largest producer of ethanol, said Monday their joint venture $12 billion biofuel company called Raizen will have 23 ethanol plants producing more than 2.2 billion litres of ethanol a year.

The week began strongly, paused on turmoil throughout the Middle East, and then finished higher with solid corporate earnings reports overcoming mediocre U.S. employment data. The green sector indices and ETFs narrowly beat the broad indices.

Halliburton Co. shares (NYSE: HAL) were heading lower in early trading today after the Presidential Commission investigating the BP Gulf Oil Spill said Thursday the company did a cementing job on the Macondo well knowing that the cement was unstable.

Ethanol stocks were up moderately in the first hours of trading this morning after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was planning to allow ethanol levels in gasoline to increase to 15 percent from the current 10 percent level in late model

So what’s up with the biofuels sector? Two biofuels companies last week filed unpriced initial public offerings (IPOs) with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a third did the same earlier this summer. A fourth biofuels company completed an IPO in April 2010.