US cellulose technology provider Alliance BioEnergy Plus has entered into a Letter of Intent agreement with DcR Engineering Services (DCR) to introduce Alliance’s cellulose-to-sugar (CTS) technology to DCR’s client base. DCR is a US-based heavy industrial engineering, fabrication and construction company serving the chemicals, fertilisers, food, water... [Read More]

Both US corn and soybean growers are expected to harvest record-high crops this year, according to a new report issued by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). US corn production is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, while soybean growers are expected to harvest 4.06 billion bushels in 2016. Aided by excellent field conditions,... [Read More]

Praj Industries, an India-based a process and project engineering company, has launched a 'Green Fund' that will help it take up projects to make second-generation ethanol plants - a move it says will help the government achieve its target of mixing automotive fuels with 10% ethanol by 2022. Pramod Chaudhari, executive chairman, Praj Industries, said:... [Read More]

The European Commission has opened an in-depth probe to assess whether the proposed merger of Dow and DuPont is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission will investigate further whether the deal may reduce competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and certain petrochemicals. The companies initially began to obtain merger approval from the EC by submitting... [Read More]

Renewable energy giant Abengoa has struck a €1.17bn restructuring deal with its creditors, ensuring the survival of the debt-laden Spanish renewables group after a year of financial instability that pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. Spain-based Abengoa - an engineering business which borrowed heavily over the past ten years to fund an aggressive expansion... [Read More]

Finnish biofuels producer Neste has said that its renewable diesel is now being used by the County of Sacramento, California. In doing so, the County of Sacramento will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its fleet by up to 80%, according to Neste. The County estimates that it will reduce greenhouses gases by approximately 8000tpy. ‘More sustainable’ "Many... [Read More]

Green Plains, the fourth-biggest US ethanol producer, has announced completion of its offering of $170 million (€151m) aggregate principal amount of 4.125% convertible senior notes due 2022, as it presses ahead with plans to buy two ethanol plants from Abengoa. The notes were offered and sold in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule... [Read More]

US researchers from Washington University have developed a new way to harness the chemical production properties of E.coli bacteria, making the production of certain biofuels from the bacteria more efficient. The new method, described in a paper published in the journal Metabolic Engineering, involves the development of two different protein pathways capable of chemically... [Read More]

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the US was nearly 15 billion gallons per year, or 973,000 barrels per day (b/d), at the beginning of 2016. The numbers are reported in the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) most recent US Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity report. Total capacity of operable ethanol plants increased by more than 500 million gallons... [Read More]

US bioethanol producer Aemetis has reported a net loss of $5 million (€4.48m) for the second quarter ended 30 June, 2016, due to a high interest expense. Revenues were $33.1 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $38.1 million for the second quarter of 2015. The decline in revenue was primarily attributable to decreases in ethanol and wet distiller’s... [Read More]

A new renewable energy research centre, called VILLUM Center for the Science of Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals, has opened in Copenhagen, Denmark. The new centre at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) will be headed by Professor Ib Chorkendorff who will bring together a team of researchers from Stanford University, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of... [Read More]

India has set out plans to boost its biofuels market over the next few years in an effort to beef up its energy security. Blending 5% of biodiesel with regular diesel and 10% ethanol with gasoline could boost the market to 500 billion rupees (€6.7 billion) by 2022, from about 65 billion rupees now, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at an Indian conference... [Read More]

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the US was nearly 15 billion gallons per year, or 973,000 barrels per day (bpd), at the beginning of 2016, according to new figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA published this announcement in its new ‘US Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Report’. Total capacity of operable ethanol plants increased... [Read More]

US-based Poet is one of the world’s largest ethanol producers. The 28-year-old company has a production capacity in excess of 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually. Earlier this year, Liz Gyekye caught up with CEO Jeff Broin to find out about the company’s outlook and current state of the market. LG: How would... [Read More]

Denmark-based biotechnology company Novozymes has reported half year pre-tax tax profit up 6% to DKK 1,906 million (€256m), compared to DKK 1,792 a year earlier, helped by strong sales growth. The firm’s net profit was DKK 1,496 million, an increase of 8% from DKK 1,389 million in the first half of 2015, primarily driven by the gain from net finance. In the... [Read More]

Gevo has reported a 10% decrease in revenue to $8.1 million (€ 7.2m) for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $8.9 million the year before. The company’s net loss for the quarter was $21.5 million, compared with $14.4 million during the same period in 2015. The company released its results on 9 August, 2016. Although the company did not expand on the reasons... [Read More]