News

Biotechnology company Codexis says its revenues for the third quarter of 2011 were up 23% on the same period last year, increasing from $27.1 million (€19.6 million) to $33.3 million. The revenue from products also increased by 29% to $12.2 million, mainly because of the progress made through the collaboration with Shell into the company’s carbon capture programme. Operating expenses…
Read More »

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has revised its projected sugarcane crush for the 2011/2012 harvest in the south-central region of the country, reducing it by 4.26% in comparison to what it predicted back in August. Instead of an estimated 510.2 million tonnes of sugarcane for the harvest, it is expected that only 488.5 million tonnes will be farmed. This is a more than 12%…
Read More »

The Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) has submitted documents to the House Science and Environment Subcommittee for a hearing on motor fuel standards, stating that the Renewable Fuel Standard is working with congress to increase US energy security and economic competitiveness. Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s industrial & environmental section, says:…
Read More »

Kyriakos Maniatis, Principal Administrator from DG Energy, part of the European Commission, will open the conference on the 16th of November by discussing the most recent developments in biofuels in Europe. Talking about advancements being made in aviation biofuel in particular, Maniatis’ presentation promises to be an insightful analysis of the European market as a whole. Also on day one,…
Read More »

Air China has launched its first demonstration flight using biofuels derived from jatropha grown in China. The biofuel was a drop-in fuel replacement for regular jet fuel, called synthetic paraffinic kerosene, and the airline partnered with Boeing, Honeywell, Civil Aviation Administration of China, PetroChina and technology Pratt & Whitney to get the flight off the ground. The Boeing 747…
Read More »

Hawaiian Electric has chosen Renewable Energy Group (REG) to supply biodiesel to the Hawaiian 110MW combustion turbine at the Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. REG will supply 3-7 million gallons of biodiesel to the station over three years. The company is already supplying biodiesel to the facility for other purposes. The biodiesel is produced from used…
Read More »

VTTI, Rotary Engineering, Mabanaft, Seaport World Malaysia, Gulf PetroChem, Zurich Insurance and Mott McDonald are just some of the names confirmed to speak at the upcoming Tank Storage Asia expo & conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on  7-8 December. Last year’s successful event proved the level of interest in the bulk liquid storage sector in Asia is the ideal location to bring…
Read More »

The USDA said today that it will grant a total of $44.6 million (€32.6 million) in payments to more than 150 biofuels producers in the US to help support them in producing and expanding their developments. Some companies, such as Texas-based White Energy, are being awarded more than $3 million towards ethanol production. Whereas others, such as QB Corporation, based in Idaho, is being given…
Read More »

Ethanol and bio-refining investment company GTL Resources has been bought by marine business Siem Kapital and fund firm North Atlantic Value (NAV) for £32 million (€36.6 million). Siem and NAV will pay a pound for each share belonging to GTL, which is listed on London’s AIM. GTL produces more than one million gallons of ethanol each year through its subsidiary Illinois River…
Read More »

Biodiesel producer Viridis Fuels has received approval from the East Bay Municipal Utility District Board of Directors to build a 20 million gallon a year biodiesel processing facility in West Oakland, California. The plant will be built next to a water treatment facility and will include the construction of rail and truck loading facilities, a power plant and a tank storage farm. It will not…
Read More »

Brazilian biodiesel producer Vanguarda Agro is pulling out of the biodiesel market to focus solely on its agriculture business. It is to sell its two plants located in Rio Grande do Sul to Camera Agroalimentos for about 58 million reais (€24 million). Vanguarda Agro believes that without government support the biodiesel industry will not be profitable, even through Brazil requires all…
Read More »

Energy company Maple Leaf Reforestation (MLR) is to open a biodiesel facility in British Columbia, Canada, using next generation feedstock. In July, the Canadian government introduced a 2% biodiesel blending limit with diesel and heating oil, making it mandatory for all users. This is expected to create a new demand for about 0.6 billion litres of biodiesel next year. In the US, 2% biodiesel…
Read More »

Plane maker Boeing and commercial jet manufacturer Embraer have formed a collaboration with Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) for research to be conducted into aviation biofuels. The companies plan to work together to research and write a report, due to be published at the end of next year, which will include information on a new technology and sustainability roadmap. The report will…
Read More »

China Aviation Oil (CAO), the largest purchaser of oil in the Asia Pacific region, will acquire a total of 1.38 million barrels of aviation fuel throughout November and December. CAO is looking to purchase four 240,000-300,000 barrel cargoes between 21-30 November, 1-10 December, 11-20 December and 21-30 December. The company bought 1.2 million barrels of jet fuel in its October/November…
Read More »