News

US ethanol giant Poet’s biorefining facility in Chancellor, South Dakota, reached a production milestone of 1 billion gallons of high-quality ethanol in 2016. According to the company, this places the facility at the vanguard of a rapidly-growing biofuels sector in the US. The facility was also the first Poet plant to hit 500 million gallons, a benchmark achieved in 2011. “Our…
Read More »

Renewable Fuels Nebraska, a trade body for the US ethanol industry, has issued a statement stating that it is “strongly opposed to any change in the point of obligation”. The statement follows last week’s news of rumours from the Trump administration that it would remove oil refiner’s obligation to blend ethanol with petro under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)…
Read More »

Edeniq, a well-known US cellulosic and biorefining technology company, announced that it has filed a cross-complaint against California-based biorefining company Aemetis for fraud and negligent misrepresentation among other claims. In a statement, Edeniq said that it Edeniq lawfully terminated its merger agreement with Aemetis in August 2016 and is vigorously defending itself against a meritless…
Read More »

A new programme called the Born Global Slip-Stream Challenge has been launched to help to drive the development and commercialisation of products like biochar, wood ash, CO2, lignin, waxes and C5/C6 sugars. The aim of the project is to work towards a goal to improve the overall profitability of bio-based projects and create replicable models for deployment in the US and Europe. This challenge is…
Read More »

Nebraska-based, US ethanol producer Green Plains has announced that its subsidiary, Green Plains Cattle Company, has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire two cattle-feeding operations from Cargill for $36.7 million (€33.6m), excluding working capital. The transaction includes feed yards located in Leoti, Kansas and Yuma, Colorado and will add capacity of 155,000 head to the…
Read More »

US ethanol producer Poet Biorefining is undergoing an expansion to more than double its capacity from nearly 70 million gallons per year to 150 million gallons per year at its Marion, Ohio-based facility. According to the company, this plan will improve the grain market for local farmers and adding new jobs to the community. With the expansion, high-protein animal feed production will also grow…
Read More »

Zimbabwe will need more biofuels to blend into its fuel supply as it pushes ahead with ethanol production, according to the Zimbabwe Mail. Zimbabwe will now increase its mandatory petrol blending from 5% to 10%. This comes after government in March reduced to 5% from 15% the mandatory amount of local ethanol to be blended with petrol as President Robert Mugabe’s cash-squeezed government…
Read More »

US ethanol trade body Growth Energy has released a new survey showing that US small engine owners are pleased with the performance of their fuel and find it easy to pick the best option, including regular unleaded blends of 10% ethanol (E10). Conducted by Quadrant Strategies, the random poll of 500 owners of lawnmowers, snow blowers, leaf blowers, weed whackers, and other small engines…
Read More »

Cellulosic biofuels could provide an environmentally sustainable way of meeting energy needs, providing certain principles are met, according to an article appearing on Science Daily. “The climate benefit of cellulosic biofuels is actually much greater than was originally thought,” Phil Robertson, professor of Ecosystem Science at Michigan State University, told Science Daily.…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

A team of chemists have discovered a new way to produce carbon-based liquid fuels from CO2. The new additive, identified by a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), selectively converts CO2 ­fuels containing multiple carbon atoms, a step towards producing renewable liquid fuels which are not derived from coal or oil. "The results were quite shocking," says…
Read More »

A consortium led by Macquarie has completed the acquisition of the UK’s Green Investment Bank. Macquarie Group (Macquarie), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (MEIF5) and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) have paid the UK government £2.3 billion to purchase the institution, which was set up in 2012 to fund renewable and low-carbon projects. According to a statement from…
Read More »

A new computational method to rapidly screen the effects of point mutations in bacteria has the potential to make biofuel production more efficient. The conversion of fibrous plant waste such as corn stalks and wood shavings into fermentable simple sugars is a basic requirement of biofuel production, but the process is far from simple. Bacteria must break down tough leaves, stems and other…
Read More »

Renewable diesel Neste and US-headquartered Jacobs Engineering Group have agreed that Neste acquires the 40% shareholding of Jacobs in Neste Jacobs Oy. After this transaction, Neste holds all shares in Neste Jacobs. "Neste Jacobs is the leading company specialising in process industry technology, engineering and project management services in the Nordic countries,” said Jyrki…
Read More »