Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has started to use biofuel in its vessels calling at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, following successful trials with biofuel blends earlier this year. The trials were completed with a minimum 10% blend fuel, however following further trials the company will now commit to using the higher 30% blend. “We are pleased to see these... [Read More]

Norden has teamed up with Denmark-based Kvasir Technologies, a spinout from the Technical University of Denmark, to develop biofuel from plant material. Using a new technology, Kvasir Technologies focuses on transforming lignin in biomass for use in the production of biofuel. Unlike other methods, Kvasir’s technology is able to convert both cellulose and lignin into... [Read More]

A researcher at Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland has developed a low-cost method to convert leftover barley from alcohol breweries into carbon, which can be used as renewable fuel for homes. Breweries in the European Union throw away around 3.4 million tonnes of unspent grain every year. Using just 1kg of grain, Dr Ahmed Osman from the university’s School of... [Read More]

Since the start of December, Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) in the US state of California, has transitioned away from fossil-based diesel and will now fuel its fleet with renewable diesel. The transition towards the cleaner burning fuel does not require any changes to existing infrastructure, and the new fuel can be dispensed into the same tank that... [Read More]

Italian energy giant Eni has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Societè National de Distribution des Petroles (SNDP) in Tunisia, to collaboration on the cultivation of castor to be used to produce sustainable biofuels. The MoU, which was signed at the Tunisian Ministry of Industry in the presence of the Tunisian Minister of Industry, Selim Feriani,... [Read More]

An increase in ethanol consumption and the implementation in 2020 of the RenovaBio federal programme to cut carbon emissions is expected to benefit Brazil’s sugarcane industry, according to a recent report from Moody’s Investors Service. Brazil’s federal RenovaBio programme aims to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2028, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate... [Read More]

The US state of Iowa’s biofuels industry has received a boost in the form of the recently signed Executive Order 5, which requires all new contracts for the purchase of state vehicles with diesel engines to have written support from the manufacturer to use biodiesel blends. The order, which was signed by Governor Kim Reynolds at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting... [Read More]

Energy giant BP has completed the formation of its joint venture with Bunge, BP Bunge Bioenergia. Brazil is currently one of the largest and fastest growing markets for biofuels in the world; through this transaction, BP Bunge Bioenergia is now the second largest operator by effective crushing capacity in the Brazilian bioethanol market. BP’s Mario Lindenhayn will... [Read More]

Evonik is planning to increase capacity for sodium methylate at its Rosario/Santa Fe facility in Argentina from 60,000 metric tons to 90,000 metric tons until 2021. The expansion is driven by increased demand for biodiesel in South America, particularly in Argentina and Brazil. Sodium methylate is used as a catalyst in large-scale biodiesel production. “Confirmed... [Read More]

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in New Orleans has been awarded a $7.2 million (€6.5 million) grant to purchase 19 new buses powered by biodiesel. The grant, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), forms part of the organisation’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program, which makes federal resources available to replace, rehabilitate and purchases... [Read More]

Air France is planning flights to San Francisco fuelled by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell, signalling their intent to fuel flights using a blend of conventional and sustainable aviation fuel from 1 June 2020. According to a statement by Air France, the collaboration with Shell and World Energy “exemplifies... [Read More]

South African Airways (SAA) has welcomed the scaling up of the local sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply in South Africa, as the country’s OR Tambo International Airport looks to introduce biodiesel into its ground-handling operations. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Mango Airlines, SAA made history in 2016 as the first airline in Africa to operate commercial... [Read More]

The Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), SkyNRG, Waterfall Group and Vancouver Airport Authority have launched BioPortYVR, a project to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Canada. The project will support provincial and federal government climate action commitments and is an important step towards the introduction of SAF across... [Read More]

IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, the CMA CGM Group and the GoodShipping Program have successfully completed their biofuels test programme on vessels owned by CMA CGM. This follows positive trials of heavy fuel-oil (HFO) equivalent bio-fuel oil (GoodFuels BFO) during the Alexander von Humboldt’s trip from North Europe to Asia, which took place in September... [Read More]

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier has received its inaugural shipment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its facilities in Montreal, Canada, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainable flying. The delivery is the first step in Bombardier’s plan to secure long-term partnerships with fuel suppliers to deploy SAF to all of its facilities, as global supply... [Read More]

US biodiesel association the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has submitted comments asking the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to properly account for small refinery exemptions. In comments submitted to the agency’s Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the 2020 Renewable Fuel Standards, the NBB urged the EPA “to properly account for small refinery... [Read More]