Other News

The Maharashtra state government in India has agreed in principle to discuss a move to E10 petrol to help boost the sugar industry. The current ethanol blend is set at 5% but the call has support from local farmer organisations as they could make better yields from sugarcane crops. Sugarcane mills are currently playing farmers IR2500 (€30) per tonne of sugarcane currently, but some believe…
Read More »

'Green diesel' made from oils and fats could be used to fuel aircraft, according to new research by Boeing. The company says green diesel, a renewable fuel used in ground transportation and chemically different to biodiesel, could provide a significant new source of sustainable aviation biofuel that emits at least 50% less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel over its lifecycle. Working with the US…
Read More »

Finnish Customs has levied a penalty payment of around €44 million ($59.9 million) to Neste Oil over the alleged missing of Finnish biofuel mandate requirements in 2009 and 2010. The legislation requires companies distributing liquid fuels to provide the appropriate energy content specified for biofuels in any fuel supplied to customers. The legislation in question is intended to…
Read More »

China New Energy (CNE) has been awarded a contract by Jilin-based New Tian Long Alcohol (NTLA) to provide technology and services for a new second generation biorefinery. The multi-phase contract, with phase one expected to last two years, is said to be worth CNY10 million (€1.2 million). The biorefinery is expected to have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year. Phase one of the project…
Read More »

Deinove, a France-based company which designs and develops new industrial production processes based on the exploitation of Deinococcus bacteria, has produced 9% ethanol via its process. The company believes this landmark shows its bacterial process is suitable for converting this type of biomass-to-biofuel and should offer industrial production costs fall in line with market…
Read More »

BF Commodities has revealed it is to build a new second generation biodiesel refinery in Switzerland It is believed the facility will be able to produce over 5,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year and operations are expected to start in June, using cooking oil and tallow feedstocks.  BF state the project will help bring a reduction of over 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Read More »

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) in Hawaii has turned down a second attempt by a local biodiesel producer to supply product to a power plant. Honolulu-based Aina Koa Pono reportedly wants approval to sell around 16 million gallons of biofuel a year to Hawaii Electric Light on a 20 year contract via a proposed new $450 million (€330 million) facility. But the PUC ruled at the end of 2013…
Read More »

Australia-based research company Actinogen, which works with a group of environmental bacteria known as actinomycetes, is to collaborate with Leaf Energy on its glycerol pre-treatment process. Leaf will spend up to AU$100,000 (€65,800) to further fund studies on bioethanol with Actinogen, as certain strains of actinomycetes produce enzymes which can break down cellulose from industrial…
Read More »

Global agribusiness Cargill is to invest €60 million ($82.5 million) in building a new ethanol facility in Germany. The plant will produce premium ethanol destined for the German and European beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries by using feedstock from an adjacent wheat facility. It is expected to be operational by the autumn of 2015.  ‘This investment by our starches…
Read More »

US-based Heliae, a developer of advanced algae production technologies, commenced operations at its first commercial facility in Arizona late last year. Using its Volaris-brand platform, the commercial facility will initially operate at 33% of its capacity to produce high-value algae products for nutraceutical and personal care products but biofuels represents another business avenue for…
Read More »

Joil, a scientific bioenergy crop developer focused on a new generation of jatropha, has achieved an average seed yield of 3.53 tonnes per hectare in the third year of its large-scale field trials in India.The company claims the yield will be 4.42 tonnes per hectare unpruned. These results place Joil’s jatropha varieties on track to deliver a projected  yield of more than 4.5 tonnes…
Read More »

Seven universities in the US are to share a multi-million federal research grant to develop non-food feedstocks for biofuels. The educational bodies, based in Florida, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Georgia, Indiana and North Carolina, will split a reported $8 million (€5.8 million) to conduct research on improving biofuel-related aspects coming from trees and grasses. The grants come from the…
Read More »

UK-based Gazasia is to develop an anaerobic digestion plant in the Philippines with local business Aseagas to provide clean, renewable transport fuel. The project will create the first biomethane plant in the country, which will produce biogas from organic waste. This, in turn, will be processed to generate liquid biomethane to be used as fuel. The initial $47 million (€34.3 million) project…
Read More »