Other News

Fuel brand BP Biofuels has signed a three year agreement to work alongside Texas AgriLife Research (TAR) in developing feedstocks in the US Gulf coast. The team at TAR will focus on production agronomics and plant breeding, while also concentrating on researching new varieties of energy cane, napiergrass, pearl-millet, miscane and kinggrass. ‘The goal is to develop a pipeline of genetics…
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German airline Lufthansa is set to work with Australian biofuels company Algae Tec to build a large-scale plant looking to produce green aviation fuel from algae. The site of the new plant is yet to be decided but it is believed a country in Europe with a large CO₂ source will eventually be named as host. ‘Lufthansa will arrange 100% funding for the project, while we will receive licence…
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New Zealand-based natural energy provider Solid Energy (SE) is weighing up proposals that may see the sale of its biodiesel division. The state-owned business has mooted the potential sale or even closure of subsidiaries Biodiesel New Zealand (BNZ) and wood pellet company Nature’s Flame. This all comes as part of a major restructuring of SE amid claims neither of the renewable businesses…
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Clean energy company General Biofuels Georgia is set to construct a new wood pellet plant in Washington County, Georgia to aid biofuels production. The facility is set to cost around $60 million (€46 million) and the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDED) is hopeful it will open in early 2014. Georgia timberlands and local lumber producers will provide feedstock and produce will…
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US-based Patriot Bioenergy (PB) has announced plans for the construction of an ethanol plant in Whitley County, Kentucky. PB is already growing beet feedstock in Whitley and Adair counties as a base for its ethanol production, moving away from corn which is no longer subsidised by the US government. ‘What we have been doing over the last eighteen months is looking at the viability of using…
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German bioethanol association BDBE has hit back that rising country bioethanol output is contributing to higher global food prices. Since the German government raised the allowed amount of bioethanol blended in petrol from five to 10% in 2011, overall output for the first half of 2012 was 295,000 metric tonnes (a 21% rise). But Germany’s development minister Dirk Niebel claimed the…
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Biofuels consultancy AdvanceBio Systems has announced its SuPR2G reactor has been chosen for a pre-treatment research project by the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory. The project will focus on the production of biofuels, fermentable sugars and chemicals from lignocelluloses rich biomass feedstocks, with both parties focusing mainly on both pre-treatment research and other…
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Petrochemical supplier and technology licensor Honeywell UOP has won a 15 month contract to work on biofuels for the US Air Force. The Defence Department awarded the $17.3 million (€13.4 million) contract for the creation of an economically viable refinery to produce advanced drop-in biofuels. The deal will be structured as a Technology Investment Agreement, meaning bidders will have to…
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The first production run at a new biofuels plant in Florida, US is being hailed as a ‘success’. Officials at the LS9 facility in Okeechobee say the production run produced several tonnes of fatty alcohol with ‘excellent replication of technical metrics’. ‘We are pleased that our very first run at 135,000 litre scale went so well. It is a direct reflection of the…
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Texas-based advanced biofuels business Terrabon has filed for chapter seven bankruptcy. The company’s operations will cease and a trustee will be appointed to help liquidate its assets for the benefit of creditors. The reason behind the bankruptcy, according to a statement from Terrabon, was the lack of forthcoming additional corporate funding to finish development of its first…
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The first phase of Europe’s first microbial oil pilot plant has been completed according to refining and marketing company Neste Oil. The first phase will enable the growth of oil-producing micro-organisms and subsequent phases will focus on raw material pretreatment and oil recovery. The construction has been on time and on budget. Neste’s goal is to develop the technology so that it…
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Biotechnology business Matrix Genetics (MG) will pursue developing biofuels-from-algae after receiving investment from Avista Corp. The value of the investment has not been disclosed but MG CEO Margaret McCormick says it will allow the Seattle-based biotech company to spin out from agricultural biotech firm Targeted Growth, which owns the majority of MG, and continue research far into…
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France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus has worked with a Chinese university to complete a sustainability analysis report on converting feedstocks, including cooking oil, into sustainable aviation fuel. Airbus, with researchers from the Tsinghua University, hope the project will show how to support the development of a value chain to speed up aviation biofuel commercialisation. ‘The…
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