News

The European biodiesel industry is urging the European Commission to stop its proposal to radically lower the anti-dumping duties on Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel imports. Member States are to decide on the Commission’s proposal to radically lower the anti-dumping duties on Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel imports. The European biodiesel industry warns of the dramatic impact that…
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US advanced biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) marked the completion of upgrades at its Ermden, Germany biorefinery with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with government and community members. "This investment is another milestone in REG's European strategy to be a leader in delivering high quality biofuels," said Jean Scemama, VP at REG Energy Europe.   Scemama added: "Within this…
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Aviation biofuels can be priced competitively to help decarbonise air travel, a new study has found. The study was conducted by US-based NGO Carbon War Room (CWR), Netherlands-based sustainable jet fuels SkyNRG and the Port of Seattle. The study unveils recommendations for long-term mechanisms that could supply all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) with sustainable…
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The co-owners of a Waterloo, Indiana based biofuel producer have been formally sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy and fraud, according to Inside Indiana Business. Fred Witmer and Gary Jury were the owners of Triton Energy and Gen2 Renewable Diesel. Witmer has been sentenced to 57 months in prison, Jury to 30 months. The two have been charged with generating more than $60…
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Finnish firm Suomen Bioetanoli is looking for substantial new funding for two new biofuels plants, following the withdrawal of a major investor on the project. According to yle.fi, a €200 million deal with Chinese investor fell through because the Chinese financier was unable to together the funding for the project. The result is a large funding hole in the planned project to construct…
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Modern diesel cars emit less pollution in general than cars that run on gasoline, according to a new international study published in the journal Scientific Reports. According to Patrick Hayes, a scientist at University of Montreal who worked on the research, the results of the study suggest that environmental regulators should increasingly shift their focus to gasoline powered cars and other…
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ExxonMobil and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have announced a two-year renewal of an agreement to research the fundamental chemistry of converting biomass into transportation fuels. The research forms part of a bigger drive to identify scalable, commercially viable solutions to meet growing global energy demand with renewable resources. The collaboration between ExxonMobil and University…
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New research claims that the concentration of ultrafine particles less than 50 nanometres in diameter, which studies have shown to be harmful to human health, increases in the air when motorists switch from ethanol-to-gasoline. Carried out by Franz M Geiger, a professor of chemistry at the National University of Singapore, the research found that when higher ethanol prices pushed drivers in Sao…
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North Dakota’s Tesoro Refinery is looking to develop a vegetable oil-to-fuel facility, according to the Associated Press. The Dickinson, North Dakota based oil refinery is planning to implement an 8,000 barrel-per-day diesel hydrotreater to process soy or distillers corn oil into renewable diesel, a recent article in the <a…
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The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published its July Short-Term Energy Outlook, which among other things shows the administration’s expectations for bioenergy and biofuel’s roles in the US energy supply. In the report, EIA says total generation from renewables in the electric power sector is set to increase by 11% in 2017, and then remain relatively unchanged in 2018.…
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Biofuels are needed to meet the UK’s commitments to mitigating climate change, according to a new report requested by the county's government. Second generation biofuels, made from wastes and by-products of other sectors, will be especially important according to the major new review of the sustainability pros and cons of biofuels by The Royal Academy of Engineering. Titled Sustainability…
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Arriva has been named as the winner of the next contract to operate regional passenger rail services in Groningen and Friesland, the Netherlands. The move will see 18 new biodiesel trains added to the busy rail network in the area, a precursor to eventually transitioning to an emissions free electrical network. The new contract will run for 15 years from 13 December 2020, and is worth…
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MEP Sean Kelly, the lead negotiator for the largest group in the European Parliament on the Renewable Energy Directive, has heavily criticised the European Commission’s proposal to phase out conventional biofuels made from food or feed crops. Proposed changes to the Renewable Energy Directive, dubbed ‘RED II’, would see a gradual phase out of crop-based biofuels such as ethanol…
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German biofuels producer CropEnergies has reported strong first quarter results. In the company’s statement for the first quarter of the current financial year 2017/18 , CropEnergies said revenues increased by 38% to €231 million, compared to €168 million the year before. The main reasons for the growth were the “significantly increased sales volumes of bioethanol as well as…
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