News

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering whether to let oil refineries stop adding ethanol to their fuels. Oil prices have been falling steadily amid a number of Trump administration efforts to ease financial pressure on the industry. Ethanol producers, however, say they have likewise been affected as its economy suffers due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the EPA,…
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Redcar-based Nova Pangaea Technologies converts unwanted plant biomass into natural platform chemicals and biofuels. We spoke to Sarah Ellerby, the company’s CEO 1. Can you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit more about Nova Pangaea Technologies? I was born and bred in Yorkshire and just returned to the area after 18 years in in the US. I’ve worked across broad industries as…
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The Biofuels International Conference and Expo that was due to take place in October has been moved to a the new date of 23 and 24 March next year due to the global pandemic. It is hoped that life and business will have returned to some sense of normality by the originally slated date, but there is no guarantee of this. Some organisations may still have travel restrictions on staff and a…
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Royal Dutch Shell has revealed the oil and gas sector’s extensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, stating its plans depended on its customers also mitigating emissions. Oil and gas producers have announced spending cuts as oil prices have hit 18-year lows and drastic restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the new coronavirus have destroyed…
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Canada’s largest and longest-running conference on the bioeconomy will be postponed for 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for June 9-11 in Prince George, the Canadian Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition will now be held on June 22-24 next year at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre. The bioeconomy represents the development and use of renewable,…
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Worldwide soybean output is expected to increase to a record high, according to the International Grain Council (ICG). The ICG estimates another bumper crop in Brazil, a standard US crop and production increases in smaller soy-countries will assist the market in 2020/21. After the almost one-fifth decline in production in the past season, the IGC estimates a rebound in US soybean production for…
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US-based Valero Energy Corp has revealed it has temporarily idled eight of its ethanol plants and is reducing production at its remaining six ethanol plants following the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the fall in demand, Valero explained that this together with the decline in the price of crude oil has resulted in a significant decrease in the price of the refined petroleum products manufactured…
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European renewable ethanol producers have asked the European Commission to consider addressing challenges that have arisen from shifting market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis. In a letter sent to several Commissioners, ePURE (the European renewable ethanol association) highlighted the conditions facing the European industry as demand has shifted from fuel to industrial…
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Neutral Fuels has become the first biofuel firm to successfully get certification under the UAE’s new Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) biodiesel quality standard. The ESMA certification proves that Neutral Fuels and its products and services satisfy the quality standards required by UAE laws, procedures and codes of conduct. ESMA is the federal entity responsible…
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Sweden-based sustainable chemical and biofuels supplier Wibax AB has announced it is investing a total of SEK 15 million (€1.38 million) in two new terminals in the Port of Skellefteå, in the north of the country. These are near  Wibax's existing terminals in the area.   “Wibax continues to grow and with this investment, we want to further strengthen our presence in the…
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VTT and its partners are aiming to identify the most economically and ecologically sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. As part of the Business Finland BioFlex project, they have launched a project to determine the suitability of biomass and waste plastics fuel oils in ship diesel engines and power plants. The VTT-coordinated project aims to find fossil fuel alternatives that can help large…
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Tens of millions of people across the world are now working from home as they desperately try to do their bit to halt the spread of Covid-19. Like many others trying to “flatten the curve” during this global pandemic crisis, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) staff are also staying at home and working remotely. Most NBB staff members have children and understand the challenges of learning at…
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Prices for rapeseed have tended to firm over the past three weeks, uncoupling from recently weaker soybean prices. Rapeseed prices in Paris increased 8% since their two-year low of €335.50 per tonne seen the middle of March as the scale of the coronavirus pandemic started to become clear and markets fell. The rapeseed market had previously been affected by uncertainty in the wake of the…
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Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor has thanked rural America’s top elected leaders for their ongoing efforts to protect biofuel and farm jobs amid a steep drop in demand due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. Led by Senators Chuck Grassley and Tammy Duckworth, a bipartisan coalition of 13 senators sent a letter calling on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to utilise resources in the recent…
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