News

Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels has achieved a major breakthrough in cellulosic biofuels production at its Project Liberty plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, US. In a statement, the US-based advanced biofuels producer said it had solved the “critical challenge in pretreatment, overcoming what has been the number one hurdle to commercialisation for producers around the world. Project Liberty is now…
Read More »

DuPont Industrial Biosciences has said it plans to sell its cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa, US. The move comes almost exactly two years after the company celebrated the grand opening of the facility in October 2015. In a statement, DuPont said: “As part of DowDuPont’s intent to create a leading specialty products company, we are making a shift in how we participate in the cellulosic…
Read More »

ExxonMobil and Renewable Energy Group (REG) have worked together to use REG’s patented fermentation technology to convert sugars from a variety of non-edible biomass sources into biodiesel. The companies came together to produce research on this area.  "Our first challenge during the initial research was to determine technical feasibility and potential environmental benefits," said…
Read More »

US ethanol trade body Growth Energy  has announced that in just five months, American drivers have surpassed another billion miles on E15, bringing the total miles driven across the US to 2 billion. This comes on the heels of Growth Energy’s recent announcement that more than 1,000 stations across the country are currently offering E15 to consumers. “This latest…
Read More »

A partnership between government-backed green finance initiatives in the UK and China have made a number of recommendations in a report that will help grow green finance across the globe. The ‘Turning Green Momentum into Actions’ report is the latest contribution from the UK-China Green Finance Taskforce. The Taskforce, setup by the Green Finance Initiative (GFI) of the City of London…
Read More »

US cellulose technology provider Alliance BioEnergy Plus has inked an exclusive brokerage agreement with Progressive Fuels, an independent interdealer broker specialising in wholesale physical and financial over-the-counter (OTC) biofuels. The agreement is for five years and will automatically renew at the end of the initial term or any renewal term for successive one-year terms. The price of…
Read More »

E10 fuel (a mixture of regular unleaded fuel and ethanol) has become the number one fuel in France after financial incentives made the biofuel more affordable and attractive, according to a report in Reuters. France is the largest ethanol market in the European Union. According to statistics from trade group ePURE, France produced 2,375 million litres of ethanol in 2016, followed by Germany who…
Read More »

 Alkol Biotech has been selected as a finalist for the 2017 edition of the Global Energy Awards. The prize, created by Platts, has been running yearly since 1999 and honours organisations and individuals who are dedicated to achieving excellence in the energy industry. Platts receives more than 200 nominations each year: nominations have come from more than 25 countries including Brazil,…
Read More »

Through increased use of biofuels in the transport sector, Uruguay has achieved a 7% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a statement from the South American country’s government. In addition to using biodiesel and bioethanol as a substitute for gasoil and naphtha, emissions are reduced by 60-70%. The figures come from a study commissioned by Alcoholes de Uruguay…
Read More »

A general ban on palm oil in biofuels in Europe punishes the wrong producers while having little impact on reducing deforestation, according to Jaboury Ghazoul, a professor of ecosystem management at ETH Zurich. He claims in an article published by the university that banning palm oil actually blocks good practice. In April 2017, the European Parliament voted to ban the use of palm oil in…
Read More »

Four Republican governors have sent a letter to US President Trump expressing concern over the changes recently proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to the US’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “The renewable fuels industry in our states, and others, is poised to grow if the EPA sends positive and consistent market signals through increases in the required volumes. That will…
Read More »

The US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a five-year grant worth up to $15 million to the University of Arizona (UA) to lead a new centre focusing on the mass production of biofuels and bioproducts in the Southwestern US. According to a statement from UA, the goals of the new Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Centre will be to address…
Read More »

New ethanol market developments, legislation and trading were just some of the themes analysed at this year’s Argus Biofuels conference. The conference, which is taking place in London at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower over three days, focused on the topic of ethanol on 17 October, 2017. Mark Chesworth, CEO at UK-based bioethanol producer Vivergo Fuels, gave an overview of the global markets in…
Read More »

Member states of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) have agreed on a new 2050 Vision for sustainable aviation fuels, which will help to ensure that conventional jet fuels are substituted with sustainable alternatives ‘to a significant percentage’ by 2050. The decision was formalised on 13 October at the Second ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels, in Mexico…
Read More »