On Monday, Ethanol producer Hawkeye Holdings postponed its $350 million IPO. The company concluded that the factors were “not conducive at this time to achieving appropriate valuation.”

Had Hawkeye continued with its launch, it most likely would’ve fallen victim to the recent ethanol pullback…just like we’ve seen with Verasun Energy Corp. (VSE:NYSE) and Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings (AVR:NYSE). Both of which have seen a slide in stock price this month.

Of course, the entire ethanol market hasn’t been a total wash.

If you look beyond the hype of the ethanol market as a whole, and focus on the individual ethanol companies within the fold that are not only producing ethanol…but producing it cheaper and more efficiently than the rest of the flock – you’ll find your winners.

Granted, they are few and far between. But they’re there. And Green Chip Investors are loading up!

The most recent…

Ethanex Energy, Inc. (EHNX.OB)

Last year I spent a few hours talking to an R&D guy at the National Ethanol Conference about fractionation technology.

Essentially, an ethanol process that utilizes fractionation technology can produce 17% more ethanol than conventional processes, while using less water and energy.

In a nutshell, the technology puts a more concentrated feedstock into the plant, so the waste material is separated out before the process begins.

Of course, after learning about fractionation (and knowing full well what it could do for the industry), my attention immediately turned to finding a publicly-traded company using it.

I found it!

The company is called Ethanex Energy, Inc. (EHNX.OB) – and you’re not going to find any other publicly-traded company out there with this kind of technology integrated into its production facilities – yet.

Here’s the deal…

First off, Ethanex is on track to have three ethanol plants on line by 2008, with a combined capacity of 300 million gallons per year. All three will employ fractionation technology to boost efficiency and minimize costs.

This company’s technology has ethanol producers foaming at the mouth because they know that this is the kind of technology that can quickly fatten their revenues without adding a dime to feedstock, energy and water costs.

It’s a no-brainer.

Look at it like this:

The ethanol industry will produce over 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol this year. And with current prices at $2.40 per gallon or higher, that’s a minimum $10.08 billion.

Now, with the integration of Ethanex’s fractionation technology…that 4.2 billion gallons becomes 4.91 billion gallons – totaling $11.78 billion.

That’s an extra $1.7 billion Ethanex’s technology could’ve added to the bottom line for 2006!

But with the renewable fuel standard increasing ethanol production to at least 7.5 billion gallons – these numbers are just going to get bigger.

At 7.5 billion gallons, you’re looking at fractionation adding an extra 1.275 billion gallons to the mix.

That’s another $3.06 billion – all from this one technology which Ethanex controls.

Ethanex just went public. But it didn’t opt for the big PR push that we’ve seen with so many other ethanol producers.

It doesn’t need it!

Because those on the inside…those who understand the technology angle here, are already set to push this thing up.

Listen. Over the next year or so, you’re going to start to see a number of other ethanol companies seek out and integrate this fractionation technology that Ethanex owns. And every time this happens, inevitably, more attention will be drawn to the stock.

In fact, it’s already started.

Just a few days ago, Ethanex announced that it had entered into a joint venture with Star Ethanol, LLC for the construction and operation of an ethanol facility in Franklin County, Illinois that will incorporate Ethanex’s fractionation technology.

The joint venture will be 85% owned by Ethanex and 15% Star Ethanol.

This, my friends, is the first indication of what I expect to see as a developing trend for Ethanex and the ethanol industry well into 2007 and beyond.

As far as ethanol stocks are concerned…hell, as far as stocks in general, Ethanex is definitely one to buy now – while it’s still this cheap!