Other News

Rio+20, the United Nations conference on sustainable development, will host a renewable jet fuel flight demonstration this month in Brazil. The fuel, which has been sourced and provided from Brazilian sugarcane by renewable products company Amyris, has passed all testing and will be used in an Azul Airlines craft. The demonstration is also being backed by commercial jet manufacturer Embraer and…
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US-based biomass company Incitor will use new funding to demonstrate its low-temperature biofuel production technology. The funding amounts to $1.5 million (€1.1 million) and comes from an investment group, led by Cottonwood Technology Fund, that hopes to finance an up to 30,000 tonnes per year facility. Incitor claims its low-temperature process can break down almost any biomass from…
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The 48th edition of the ELE Rally in the Netherlands hosted races that had cars fuelled by Gasoline Ethanol Methanol (GEM) from second generation biofuels producer BioMCN. The BioMCN 350Z Challenge saw 14 cars powered by GEM, which consists of the three fuel elements mixed in various ratios to almost match E85 properties but with a significantly lower CO₂ footprint than traditional fossil…
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Renewable energy company Biox will build its second biodiesel production facility within International-Matex Tank Terminals' (IMTT) Bayonne terminal at New York Harbor after the two companies signed definitive agreements. Biox designs, builds, owns and operates biodiesel production facilities. Its first facility is located in Hamilton Ontario. The $60 million (€47 million) Bayonne plant will…
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The California Energy Commission has unanimously agreed to approve funding of over $35 million (€27.9 million) to help speed up the development of green fuels and technology. The funding will support many different fuel and vehicle projects in the state, including natural gas vehicle technology and incentives, E85 fuelling stations, biodiesel production and hybrid and plug-in…
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Final approval on E15 petrol blends has been granted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but it may still be some time before consumers can begin selecting it at the pumps. The approval means US companies will be able to sell fuel consisting 85% petrol and 15% ethanol, up-scaling from the current E10 model allowed throughout the country. The EPA, who first set the wheels in…
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International supplier of fermentation ingredients to the fuel ethanol industry Lallemand Ethanol Technology (LET) has announced the brand name of its collaboration with Mascoma Grain Technology (MGT). The yeast product project will be marketed under the name TransFerm and be available for use by the fuel ethanol industry. It represents the first commercial application of MET's proprietary…
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More US fuel plants are potentially considering retrofits to be able to produce isobutanol biofuel on-site. Technology provider Butamax Advanced Biofuels has signed up four ethanol plants for potential retrofits, bringing the total of what it is calling ‘the early adopters group’ to seven interested parties overall. The latest plants are Granite Falls Energy, Platinum Ethanol, Little…
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Strategic investor company Intercore Energy has announced a $1 million (€794,000) equity investment into Epec Biofuels Holdings to advance the commercialisation of ethanol 2.0 in the US. Epec has positioned itself as a pioneer of bringing ethanol 2.0 to commercial reality since late 2011 and this investment is part of a bigger approximately $1.25 million financing plan proposed by…
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A request has been made by the Philippines Coconut Authority (PCA) to the National Biofuels Board (NBB) to increase the current 2% blend of coco biodiesel before the end of the year. The proposal wants the blend to be increased to 5% and would mean an additional 21,000 metric tons of coconut oil would be needed to meet the requirement. PCA administrator Euclides Forbes says the proposal was in…
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Canadian biofuels producer Enerkem is to consider licensing its trash-to-ethanol technology following production at a demonstration plant. In a statement Enerkem has claimed it expects the plant to validate its manufacturing process which will be used at three commercial-scale plants that are currently under construction in the US and Canada. VP of government affairs and communications…
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UK prime minister David Cameron and Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg have agreed a landmark energy partnership between the two countries designed to secure affordable and sustainable long term energy supplies. Named the Norway-UK Energy Partnership for Sustainable Growth, it will see closer collaboration between the two countries across a wide range of energy activities including…
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Swedish energy company Umeå Energi is set to build an algae pilot plant in the north of the country which it is calling ‘the biggest in the Sweden’. The algae produced from this new facility will be used as biomass to potentially biodiesel and the project will be led by Dr Francesco Gentili of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Algae will be cultivated from waste…
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