Learn how to survive in the Canadian biofuels industry

When it comes to biofuels markets, Canada and the US could not be more different. The US market grew quickly and as a result created an environment of overcapacity where some producers struggled to survive.

In contrast the market in Canada is fairly nascent, yet it enjoys exceptionally high public and government support. This gives Canada the perfect opportunity to learn from the US and ensure the industry grows into a thriving and successful industry.

Pacific Ethanol is an example of one US producer which suffered from unfavourable market conditions last year and was forced to file for bankruptcy. However the facility quickly resumed operations and has just released its Q2 financial results stating that net sales grew 9% and totals gallons sold grew 88% compared to Q2 last year.

This is the sort of success story producers in Canada need to learn from in order to survive in today’s tough market conditions.

Paul Koehler, Vice President of Corporate Development at Pacific Ethanol will speak at the upcoming two day Bioenergy International Canada expo & conference on 28-29th September in Calgary, Alberta, and give other producers an insight into how the company turned things around.

He is just one of the many speakers at this event, which is organised by market leading magazine Biofuels International.

The event brings together producers, regulators and investors to discuss how best to meet these goals and support the market’s continued development.and conference topics include a clear explanation of the Federal Renewable Fuels Regulations, influences from the US regulatory environment, A case study of how ethanol can be produced from cellulosic ethanol, information on future feedstock options such as algae, how facilities can secure the necessary finance and investment to grow and develop, the importance of plant design, how to ensure final fuel quality, and how to integrate biofuels into the supply chain.

Other key speakers include Lorri Thompson, Oil, gas and alternative energy division, Environment Canada, Government of Canada, Michael Campbell, Director, Energy Systems Division, Logos Technologies, Scott Brittenham, CEO, Clean Energy Capital, Matthew J. Griswold, President, Blendstar Terminals and many more – the full conference programme can be viewed at http://www.biofuelsinternationalexpo.com/canada/conf_prog.html

Last year’s event was held in Montreal but market research has shown that Calgary is the ideal location to host this event in 2010. Alberta is under increasing pressure to become more environmentally friendly and is home to the largest biorefinery in North America. During 2009-10 $55 million (€33 million) will be committed for biofuel initiatives to support the development of renewable energy and offer additional economic opportunities for rural Alberta and the agriculture and forestry industries.

As an added bonus visitors and delegates will have free access to the concurrent Tank Storage Canada expo & conference – focusing on storage terminal and tank farm developments throughout Canada and Northern America – www.tankstorageevents.com/tscanada

Full information on this event can be found at www.biofuelsinternationalexpo.com/canada

The conference delegate fee is only CA$990 or CA$500 for just one day.



Register online now at http://www.biofuelsinternationalexpo.com/canada/conf_register.html or contact Margaret Garn for further details: +44 208 687 4126 margaret@biofuels-news.com