News

Ineos Bio has hailed the first renewable power production at its joint renewable energy project in Florida, US. The Indian River Bioenergy Centre is currently turning local yard, vegetative and agricultural wastes into advanced biofuels and renewable power. The facility was a joint venture with development company New Plant Energy. The facility is expected to generate 6MW of renewable power…
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Stagecoach-branded buses have significantly upgraded the blend of biofuels it uses to power its fleet. Over 500 coaches and buses in East Scotland, plus nearly 400 vehicles in operation for Stagecoach in West Scotland, are now running on B30 biofuel. The buses were previously running on B5 and calculate the switch could cut emissions by up to 22%. ‘Public transport can play a key role in…
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Next generation bio-based chemicals producer Cobalt Technologies is set to work closely with a subsidiary of agribusiness and food company Bunge. Bunge Global Innovation ‘s investment into Cobalt, along with chemicals business Rhodia Poliamida e Especialidades, means it will operate a pilot plant demonstrating the production of n-butanol using sugarcane bagasse as feedstock in…
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Industrial enzymes producer Novozymes believes it has a new product that could improve the profitability and efficiency of biofuel production. The product, named Avantec,  is said to allow corn ethanol producers the ability to get a further 2.5% ethanol out of the feedstock. ‘Corn is the single biggest input cost for an ethanol producer and, as prices have gone up, profits have…
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Canada-based waste to biofuels company Enerkem is hiring new employees as construction on its new plant gathers pace. The facility, situated in Edmonton, Alberta, is among the first small-scale advanced biofuels plants being built in North America. It will utilise the City of Edmonton’s landfill-based waste to create renewable fuels and other chemicals. ‘Construction of our new plant…
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Fuel giant British Petroleum (BP) has backed out of plans to construct a $300 million (€232 million) ethanol plant which would have been based in Florida, US. BP is confident in the effectiveness of its technology to convert energy crops into advanced cellulosic ethanol, but that it could earn better returns pursuing other avenues. The news has caused many to call this a ‘huge…
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Bioinnovation company Novozymes and agricultural business Syngenta have signed an exclusive agreement to market and distribute a crop protecting product. The product is Novozymes’ Taegro, a natural solution microbial-based biofungicide used to combat fungal diseases that attack various crops.  ‘Using our technology, Syngenta will provide farmers all over the world with a…
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The US state of Nebraska has had its first sales of E15 blended fuel this October. A service station in Lexington had blender pumps installed on 16 October and confirmed sales by the end of that weekend. The station owner, Neal Hoff, utilised a blender pump grant from the Nebraska Corn Board to get started. Hoff was quoted as saying that E15 ‘was the fuel of the future for…
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Israeli scientists involved in the research of biofuels and solar energy are set to benefit from a multi-million pound grant. Part of a $15 million (€11.5 million) gift given to the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will be dispersed over the next three years and used to fund the research projects. The money has come from the Leona and Harry…
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The Filipino Department of Energy (DoE) is to collaborate on a new bioethanol research project with Xavier University. The DoE will commit to fund the university’s study into looking at potential bioethanol production via varieties of cassava taken from the Northern Mindanao region. The exact amount of the funding has not been disclosed. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant food…
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Canadian-based Woodland Biofuels says its new demonstration plant is up and could be producing ethanol by the end of this year. The new facility will use wood waste as feedstock and is based at the Western University Research Park’s Bioindustrial Innovation Centre in Sarnia. It will create 10 operational jobs while it employed 25 people during construction. ‘It’s all assembled…
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The owner of a 30 million gallon a year biodiesel plant in Iowa, US has temporarily suspended production. Soy Energy has said ‘recent volatile market conditions and continued production challenges’ have taken their toll hence the suspension. Some employees have been laid off since the announcement. ‘In order to ensure the long-term health of the business for both our customers…
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A coalition of US biofuel trade organisations have urged House and Senate leaders ‘to stay the course’ on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A drafted letter claims the RFS as the cornerstone of the association’s efforts to reduce foreign oil dependence and create jobs and economic growth across America. It also tells the Environmental Protection Agency that a waiver of RFS…
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Biofuels and chemicals company Advanced Bioenergy is expected to sell its Nebraska, US ethanol plant by the end of the year to Flint Hills Resources. The news comes after Advanced Bioenergy wanted to see how much interest would come from a sale after receiving interest from another potential buyer earlier this year. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval. The Fairmont-based plant opened…
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