The UK government has set its fifth carbon budget in order to tackle climate change. The fifth carbon budget will cut carbon emissions by 57% by 2032, based on 1990 levels. This emissions reduction should leave the UK on track to meet its Climate Change Act target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. The UK's Climate Change Act of 2008 sets the 2050 target. It requires... [Read More]

Fonterra, a New Zealand-based dairy cooperative, will be using biodiesel from Wellington-based Z Energy for its tankers. Z Energy is currently commissioning its $21 million Wiri plant and production is expected to start in mid-July. The plant can produce 20 million litres of biodiesel annually and that can be doubled if the energy company spends another $4 million... [Read More]

US navy aircraft carrier John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) and 26 nations will participate in the world's largest international maritime exercise for the 25th annual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California using 11.2 million gallons of a 10% alternative fuel blend. The alternative fuel that will be used during RIMPAC is... [Read More]

Borregaard, a Norway-based biorefinery specialist, and Rayonier Advanced Materials (Ryam) have concluded a market, technical and engineering analysis regarding a new lignin operation at Ryam’s Fernandina Beach site in Florida to serve the growing demand for natural lignin-based products. The final review of the investment by the companies’ boards of directors... [Read More]

The global enzymes market is expected to reach $17.5bn by 2024 helped by strong demand for bioethanol in emerging economies, according to a new study by Grand View Research. Growing demand for enzymes in food and beverage products as they improve quality and eliminate deficiencies in the products is expected to propel industry growth in the near future. Increasing... [Read More]

US agricultural specialist Monsanto Company and German biotechnology specialist Nomad Bioscience have announced a licensing agreement whereby Monsanto has obtained rights to apply Nomad’s proprietary technology to its genome-editing projects aimed at enhancement of agricultural crops. Nomad’s biomaterial pipeline consists of several selected product candidates,... [Read More]

US-based scientists have altered the lignin in aspen trees in a way that increases access to biofuel building blocks without inhibiting plant growth. The scientists based at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have been able to do this by engineering a novel enzyme involved in lignin synthesis. Lignin is a natural component... [Read More]

Germany increased its production of bioethanol by 1.8% to 739,821 tonnes in 2015 compared to the year before, according to new statistics from Germany’s bioethanol trade association (BDBe). The report from the BDBe showed that 264,665 tonnes of bioethanol were produced from industrial beet in 2005, an increase of 9% from the previous year. Production of bioethanol... [Read More]

The pile of letters sent to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the planned Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2017 keeps on growing. This time around, 39 US Senators are urging EPA administrator Gina McCarthy to ensure the final 2017 ruling “promotes growth in the US biofuel sector and capture economic opportunity rather than drive investment... [Read More]

US biofuel heavyweights have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that biofuel blend volume requirements match the statutory levels set by Congress under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The US RFS was created in 2005 by Congress in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector while reducing... [Read More]

US ethanol plant owners are seeking to diversify their operations to boost growth, according to Novozyme’s global marketing manager Jack Rogers. Speaking to Biofuels International at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) Conference in Milwaukee, US, about the US ethanol market, Rogers said: “Corn and ethanol prices have gone down in recent years but there has been... [Read More]

In the US, biofuel producer Siouxland Ethanol is proceeding with its planned $8 million (€7.2m) expansion of its Nebraska ethanol plant. Expansion of the facility, located in Nebraska’s Dakota County near Sioux City, is projected to increase its production capacity by 15%, according to Sioux City Journal. "We’re really looking forward to increased production... [Read More]

In Thailand, the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangchak Petroleum and three logistics operators to use B20 biodiesel in their heavy vehicles. According to Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat, this pilot project will spend 115 million baht (€2.8m) from the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund... [Read More]

In the US, disputes over the current state and the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) continue as the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) VP of federal affairs Anne Steckel testified to the US Congress about the benefits of biodiesel. Biodiesel is delivering the vast majority of advanced biofuel under the RFS and is poised for continued growth with strong policy, Steckel... [Read More]

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s new methodology for setting annual Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) continues to chill investment in advanced biofuels, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) finds. Based on a new study, BIO says investment patterns demonstrate that EPA is sending a sustained market signal that disincentivises advanced biofuels, causing... [Read More]

Members of the US House of Representatives have sent an open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) questioning how it intends to protect small engine consumers from high ethanol blends. In the letter, 45 Representatives from both parties ask EPA administrator Gina McCarthy how the EPA plans to prevent consumers from accidently misfuelling with E15 and higher... [Read More]