The state of California in the US has approved the storage of biodiesel blends of up to 20% (B20) in underground storage tanks, removing the final barrier to ensuring the state has access to sufficient volumes of the biofuel. The campaign began over 10 years ago, with the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), several member companies and the California Advanced Biofuels Alliance... [Read More]

Minnesota-based Advanced BioEnergy has announced the sale of its Aberdeen and Huron ethanol plants to Glacial Lakes Energy for $47.5 million (€42.4 million), the Associated Press has reported. The transfer of the plant is due to take place in the third quarter of 2019, following shareholder approval. Advanced BioEnergy would be liquidated and the proceeds distributed... [Read More]

Next generation fuels producer LanzaTech has partnered with Novo Holdings to advance its sustainable fuels and chemicals platform. Novo Holdings will make a $72 million (€64.3 million) investment in the company in a Series E financing. The transaction, which will also see Novo’s senior director Anders Bendsen Spohr join LanzaTech’s board of directors, highlights... [Read More]

The Brazilian Government has approved a 1% increase in the minimum amount of biodiesel to be blended into diesel sold in the South American country to 11%, as reported by Reuters. The country’s National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) also announced the approval of the sale and use of B15 fuel, a blend of 15% biodiesel. The 1% increase in blend... [Read More]

Finnish airline Finnair has flown the first biofuel flight supported by its ‘Push for Change’ carbon reducing initiative. On 5 August, a Finnair flight departing from San Francisco Airport to Helsinki in Finland was fuelled with a 12% biofuel blend. Another flight will depart on 7 August, with the total carbon dioxide emission from the two flights reduced by around... [Read More]

US ethanol association Growth Energy has announced the election of Nathan Vander Griend to the organisation’s board of directors. Vander Griend is president and CEO of ERI Solutions, which provides environmental, health and safety non-destructive testing (NDT), sustainability and risk control solutions to a range of industries, including biofuels. He also oversees... [Read More]

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has awarded four grants totalling over $500,000 (€446,888) to expand biofuel access and production. Under its Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation (AGRI) programme, the MDA awarded grants to four recipients through two competitive review processes. A bioenergy/biochemical pilot project grant worth $150,000 (€134,060)... [Read More]

An ethanol plant in northwest Iowa, US has suspended production ‘until further notice’, according to a statement from the plant’s owner Plymouth Energy. The company’s ethanol plant is one of at least 10 in the US to temporarily suspend operations, with a further three closing for good, Radio Iowa reported. “A lot of the experts say we’ve got about a 10%... [Read More]

Renewable fuels producer Gevo has achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) under the ISCC Plus scheme for food, feed, industrial applications, energy and biofuels outside Europe. The ISCC certification demonstrates the company’s sustainable cultivation of corn, which is then converted into renewable isobutanol, or biobutanol. ISCC Plus... [Read More]

Cielo Waste Solutions has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Renewable U Lethbridge to build a renewable diesel refinery in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The two companies intend to enter a joint venture (JV) agreement to enable the construction and operation of a refinery that will convert waste into high grade renewable fuels, using Cielo’s conversion... [Read More]

The US could potentially produce enough energy by harnessing waste each year to power the states of Oregon and Washington, according to recent analysis from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers. The findings, published in the journal Nature Energy by UCLA industrial ecologist and energy economist Deepak Rajagopal and urban planning doctoral candidate... [Read More]

Renewable fuels producer Neste has announced the appointment of Thorsten Lange as executive vice-president for renewable aviation, and member of the company’s executive committee. Lange will join Neste in February 2020 at the latest, and will report to president and CEO Peter Vanacker. He is moving to Neste from a position with German airline Lufthansa Group. “I... [Read More]

A coalition comprised of agricultural and biofuels industry stakeholders has filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, requesting the court to lift a stay placed on a 2018 petition asking the court to protect the renewable fuels industry from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The petition ask the EPA to revise its... [Read More]

US renewable fuels producer Pacific Ethanol has released its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2019, with both sales and production impacted by the ‘current poor margin environment’. Pacific Ethanol reported net sales of $346.3 million (€313.6 million) for the second quarter of this year, down from last year’s sales. Total gallons sold... [Read More]

Renewable diesel producer Neste has celebrated the expansion of capacity at its refinery in Singapore with the laying of a foundation stone. Construction on the expansion project started at the beginning of 2019. The €1.4 billion investment will be used to expand Neste’s renewable products production capacity in Singapore. “The Singapore expansion marks an... [Read More]

Brazilian meat processing company JBS plans to invest in a biodiesel plant through its processed foods unit, Seara Alimentos. Seara will invest R$180 million ($47.5 million; €42.6 million) in a new plant, which will convert fat and scraps from pork and poultry into biodiesel, Reuters reported. The new plant will be located in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, and... [Read More]