Amyris, a US industrial bioscience company, has announced that it has won a three-year multi-million dollar contract from the US Department of Energy (‘DOE') to further the manufacturing of cellulose-derived farnesene for biofuels. Amyris, in cooperation with Renmatix and Total New Energies USA, will work to develop a manufacturing-ready process utilising... [Read More]

Finnish forest firm UPM has made new appointments to its biofuels’ unit. Sari Mannonen has been appointed vice president, responsible for UPM Biofuels Strategic Business Unit as of 9 August 2016. Mannonen previously worked as director, sales and marketing within UPM Biofuels and was in that role since 2014, responsible for commercial strategy and product launches... [Read More]

US-based international agribusiness company Earth Gen-BioFuel will sponsor two international industry symposiums to promote the use of caster bean oil in the manufacture of biodiesel.  The first symposium will be in the US and the second is planned for Southeast Asia. George Shen, president, said:  "EarthGen believes that the best way to expand the market for... [Read More]

Cornell University biological engineers have deciphered the cellular strategy to make bioethanol, using an anaerobic microbe feeding on carbon monoxide – a common industrial waste gas. “Instead of having the waste go to waste, you make it into something you want,” said Ludmilla Aristilde, assistant professor in biological and environmental engineering.... [Read More]

For the first time since the start of the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation in 2008, no palm oil has been used in the renewable biodiesel that is blended into fossil diesel, according to official figures. The Renewable Energy Association (REA) reported that volumes have dropped sharply since 2012 and UK biodiesel is now largely made from waste feedstocks,... [Read More]

US lawmakers should recognise the potential of mid-level ethanol blends to contribute to the fight against greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from traffic, a US ethanol trade association says. Growth Energy is urging authorities to support high-octane mid-level ethanol blends in the wake of a recent report by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge, Argonne, and... [Read More]

US ethanol producer Green Plains said revenue and profits rose in the second quarter as it produced record volumes of ethanol and saw growing demand in the US and overseas. The firm reported net income of $8.2 million (€7.35m), or 21 cents per diluted share, for the three months ending June 30, up 5.1 percent from $7.8 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, for the... [Read More]

Global Green Chemicals, a Thai oleochemicals company, has announced plans to increase its biodiesel production capacity by setting up a second methyl-ester plant in Chon Buri province, located in the southeast of Bangkok GCC plans to increase biodiesel output, which uses oil palm as a raw material, to accommodate increasing demands for biofuel, including state-of-the-art... [Read More]

Renewable Energy Group (REG), a US-based biofuels producer, reported second-quarter net income of $6.9 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Ames, Iowa-based company said it had net income of 16 cents per share, for the period ended 30 June, 2016. It posted a net loss of $2 million in Q2 2015. The biodiesel producer posted revenue... [Read More]

Car giant Nissan Motor Co. has revealed what it calls the world’s first Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell (SOFC)-powered prototype vehicle that runs on bioethanol electric power. Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn said: “The e-Bio Fuel-Cell offers eco-friendly transportation and creates opportunities for regional energy production…all the while supporting the... [Read More]

Global agribusiness Cargill has announced that it will sell two of its European-based oilseed processing plants and businesses to Bunge. The plants are based in the Netherlands and France. In the Netherlands, the transaction includes the soybean and rapeseed crush and soybean oil refining facility in the Port of Amsterdam as well as part of the bulk port terminal... [Read More]

US policymakers should keep an eye on the renewable identification number (RIN) market to stop possible price manipulation, the Renewable Fuel Association (RFA) calls. In a letter sent to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the ethanol trade association encourages the agencies to “closely examine recent events... [Read More]

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a US-based global food processing and commodities firm, has reiterated that it is conducting a strategic review of its ethanol dry mills in its second-quarter earnings report. The company unveiled its report on 2 August, 2016. It reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by poor ethanol margins and lower earnings from its agricultural... [Read More]

UPS, a package delivery giant, has announced that it will invest more than $750 million (€670m) for its alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles by the end of 2016. It also announced that it has successfully completed one billion miles in its ‘rolling laboratory' fleet of electric, hybrid, natural gas, and biofuel-powered delivery vehicles. The company... [Read More]

llinois Institute of Technology researchers have received a patent for a method to genetically engineer bacteria and yeast to increase bioethanol production, especially from cellulosic material in biomass like twigs, branches, plant stalks and husks, and woodchips. According to news channel Phys.org, Ben Stark, professor of biology, and former Ph.D. student Tony Sanny,... [Read More]

Land O’Lakes, a US agribusiness, has acquired California-based biotechnology firm Ceres. Ceres will become part of Land O'Lakes' forage business unit currently comprised of Forage Genetics International (FGI). Ceres develops and produces seeds of genetically modified crops used for biofuels production. The transaction brings new advanced plant breeding and biotechnology... [Read More]