Valero Energy has released its first quarter 2019 results, announcing net income of $141 million (€126 million) for the first three months of the year. This was down from $469 million for the same quarter last year. “Investments to increase our system’s flexibility and the team’s relentless focus on safety enabled us to capture good margins in an... [Read More]

US-based KATZEN International has agreed to design a corn-based fuel ethanol plant in Brazil for Ethanol S. A. Bioenergia. The plant, which will be located in the Nova Mutum, Mato Grosso region of the South American country, broke ground earlier this month. The Ethanol S. A. Bioenergia facility is a joint venture project between Grupo O+ Participações and... [Read More]

The EU is committed to carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, but long-term objectives require ambitious action today. The clean energy and climate package, including a set of legislations to ensure the EU is on track to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 40% by 2030, have now all been adopted. An important legislation is the Effort Sharing Regulation... [Read More]

Biofuels producer Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced first quarter net earnings of $233 million (approximately €209 million) after extreme weather and flooding in the US Midwest negatively impacted earnings. The company announced plans to spin off its ethanol business after disappointing biofuel margins and flooding in the Midwest caused ADM’s profits... [Read More]

Freight and passenger ferry operator DFDS has announced its investment in start-up biofuels producer Mash Energy. Mash Energy produces biofuel from agricultural waste, which it currently sources from the by-product of nut processing in Tanzania and India. The two companies will work to develop a commercially viable alternative shipping fuel to currently used fossil fuels,... [Read More]

Danish biotechnology company Novozymes has released its interim report for the first three months of 2019, noting a decline in sales due to weakness in US bioethanol. According to the company, all businesses developed roughly as expected with the exception of the US bioethanol industry. Organic sales growth was down 4% in the first three months of this year, with bioenergy... [Read More]

Whitefox Technologies has successfully installed and commenced operations of the fifth Whitefox ICE™ system at Ace Ethanol’s Wisconsin plant. The company’s membrane system is part of a project that will integrate with D3MAX’s technology to convert corn kernel fibre to ethanol, enabling reduced energy consumption. “After seeing the benefits... [Read More]

With the entry into force of the revision of the renewable energy directive (REDII) in December 2018, following months of intense negotiations, the European Union (EU) biofuels industry at large entered a no less important phase in which Member States have to put in place the necessary national REDII implementing legislation ahead of the 31 June 2021 transposition deadline.... [Read More]

Swedish biofuels producer Sekab E-Technology has announced that a new biorefinery in Finland, Nordfuel, will open in 2021 using Sekab’s Celluapp technology. The €150 million facility will produce bioethanol and biofuel from soft wood residues. The company’s Celluapp technology platform enables the extraction of cellulose sugars and lignin from forest or... [Read More]

Washington State Ferries (WSF)announced that it will be launching a Sustainability Action Plan that outlines objectives for more renewable ferries and terminals, which includes a commitment to using a 10% biodiesel mix. According to the release, the plan includes initiatives to protect orca whales, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and reduce waste. “Because... [Read More]

The Ministers of Agriculture in Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic have signed a joint declaration agreeing on the importance of biofuels in the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) post-2020. “We agree to take all necessary steps to establish the contribution of the biofuels of EU agricultural origin (produced from food and feed crops) to the targets set by RED... [Read More]

Irish university NUI Galway has announced the official opening of a new research laboratory to generate biofuels from waste products. A team of 25 PhD and post-doctoral researchers will work in the new laboratory under Professor Piet Lens in the Department of Microbiology. The researchers are undertaking a major research project to transform waste and wastewater treatment... [Read More]

Montreal-based waste to biofuels company Enerkem has announced the closing of new financing to the tune of CAD$76.3 million (€5 million). The funding has been sourced from existing investors, as well as a new investor, Canadian energy company Suncor Energy, the company announced. Suncor will also offer technical resources to support Enerkem’s planned growth.... [Read More]

Dubai-based waste to biofuel company Neutral Fuels announced it has been accepted onto the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator (MBRIFA), a programme established by the UAE Ministry of Finance to accelerate the expansion of innovative businesses. Neutral Fuels is one of seven companies chosen from 159 applications across 29 companies for the fund accelerator. “This... [Read More]

Renewable fuel producer Neste has announced an agreement with aviation fuel supplier Air BP to deliver sustainable aviation fuel to Swedish customers. This latest agreement will build on their existing partnership, which was established last year to develop solutions to deliver sustainable aviation fuel to airports and airlines, according to Neste. “I am very happy... [Read More]

SJR Tank Construction and HES International subsidiary HES Botlek Tank Terminal (HBTT) have announced a new partnership relating to the construction of biofuel storage tanks. HBTT has contracted SJR Tank construction to build six high quality tanks to store biofuel. The agreement builds on an earlier contract signed in 2017, under which seven tanks with a combined capacity... [Read More]