Commodities trader Noble Group has announced it is selling its US-based ethanol producer Noble Americas South Bend Ethanol (NASBE) for $12.5 million (€10.5 million). According to a statement from Noble, the company has entered into an equity purchase agreement with Zeeland Farm Services for the proposed sale of “all of the issued and outstanding capital stock”... [Read More]

Nigeria’s state oil corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kebbi State Government (KBSG) to build a bioethanol plant. The plant is expected to use cassava and sugarcane as a feedstock and produce 84 million litres of ethanol per year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said in a statement. The Nigerian government is investing... [Read More]

Sweden increased use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) diesel is helping to boost its biofuels industry, according to new research. HVO diesel is a renewable diesel made from different bio-based raw materials. Sales of HVO diesel increased by 24% during the third quarter of 2017 compared with the corresponding period for 2016, according to preliminary figures from Statistics... [Read More]

US advanced biofuels producer Poet has responded to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to maintain the current point of obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). CEO Jeff Broin said: “By maintaining the point of obligation for the RFS, the EPA is allowing the system to continue to work as designed. Under the RFS, infrastructure for... [Read More]

The European renewable ethanol association ePure has responded to the European Union’s third State of the Energy Union report. A key finding of the report is that thanks to progress in 2017, the EU is on track to implement the Energy Union project and deliver jobs, growth and investments. Enabling actions are being put in place to support a socially fair... [Read More]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied requests from petitioners to change the point of obligation for compliance under the Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS) programme. Major oil companies had petitioned to relieve refiners of their obligation to fulfil annual biofuel quotas under the RFS. The move encountered strong opposition from the biofuel industry... [Read More]

PowerHouse Energy Group moves forward with waste-to-hydrogen system design London-based clean energy company PowerHouse Energy Group announced that it had completed early design work on its UK-based 25 tonne-per-day synthetic gas (syngas) plant, according to news channel ProActive Investors. The pre-front-end engineering and design, or pre-FEED, stage validated the company's... [Read More]

China’s Hainan Airlines has completed the country’s ‘first’ cross-ocean biofuels powered flight. Flight 497 took off from the Beijing on 21 November. It landed at Chicago’s O’Hare airport at 12:05pm local time. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner completed the more than 11,000km journey with biological aviation fuel produced from waste cooking... [Read More]

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $11.9 million (€7.7 million) in funding for Ethanol Technologies (Ethtec), an Australian biofuel company. The funding will go towards the development and demonstration of Ethtec’s advance bioethanol technology. Ethtec aims to construct a $30 million (€19.3 million) purpose built pilot-scale facility... [Read More]

EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, has called for an ambitious revision of the European Bioeconomy Strategy. According to the trade body, such a revision would help tackle climate change and meet the needs of a growing population whilst boosting Europe’s resource efficiency, competitiveness and long-term economic growth. “To achieve this,... [Read More]

Biodiesel producers in Indonesia are looking for new export markets, according to Indonesia Investment. In early November, the US Commerce Department set anti-subsidy rates in the range of 34.45-64.73% for palm oil-based biodiesel imports from Indonesia. This final ruling was slightly lighter compared with the preliminary 41.06-68.28% range that was set in August 2017. Indonesian... [Read More]

Germany-based engine specialist DEUTZ has approved the latest generation of its entire TCD engine range for operation with alternative fuels, including paraffinic diesel fuels and biodiesel or biodiesel blends. This will make a further significant reduction to the carbon footprint of combustion engines and even raises the prospect of running such engines on a carbon-neutral... [Read More]

The US state of Iowa has 146 petrol stations that offer E15. The US state of Iowa has expanded the number of petrol stations that offer drivers E15. The news comes as petrol station Casey’s announced that it added two more petrol stations to its E15 portfolio in Iowa. A total of five Casey’s stations across Iowa now offer E15. Overall, the company has 17 stations... [Read More]

Biofuel created from waste coffee grounds is helping to power some of London’s buses, the BBC reports. Technology firm bio-bean creates a biofuel by blending oil extracted from coffee waste with diesel. According to the company, it has now produced enough coffee oil to power one bus for a year. Transport for London, the local government body responsible for the transport... [Read More]

Qantas Airlines and Quebec, Canada based Agrisoma Biosciences have signed what they claim is the ‘first-ever’ ‘farm-to-flight’ deal. The agreement will see farmers in Australia growing a Canadian oilseed used to make bio jet fuel. Agrisoma will work with Australian farmers to grow the Carinata seed, a non-food, industrial type of mustard seed that... [Read More]

UK bioethanol producer Vivergo Fuel has announced plans to bring forward and extend its annual plant maintenance shutdown period as a result of poor market conditions and legislative uncertainty. The company’s bioethanol plant is based in Salt End, Hull, in the North East of England. ‘Serious consequences’ Speaking about the issue, Mark Chesworth, managing... [Read More]