Other News

Biofuels producer Verbio says its group sales have so far risen by more than 45% over the past year to €539 million, which it has attributed to the rising prices of biofuels along with trading activities. In the first three quarters of this year, Verbio produced more than 410,000 tonnes of biofuels, and although this was less than the 427,000 tonnes of biofuels produced in the same period in…
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FuturaGene, a woody crop plantation company for the bioenergy and biofuel markets, has opened a new biotech R&D centre in China. Although Futuragene has been working in China through partnerships with universities and research institutes over the last six years, this is the first such centre of its kind for the company in the country. Stanley Hirsch, CEO of FuturaGene, says: ‘China,…
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Lincoln Park Capital Fund has agreed to invest up to $10 million (€7.3 million) into BlueFire Renewables, a producer of renewable fuels via non-food cellulosic wastes. The investment, which will be spread out over 30 months, will go towards new developments by BlueFire, improving its processing capabilities. The round of funding comes following a busy year for BlueFire. In 2010 the company…
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New Energy Farms (NEF), a North American-based commercial trading and development company for energy crops, in particular miscanthus, has opened two large-scale facilities for the supply of miscanthus rhizomes. Two production sites are now operational, one in Ontario, Canada, and the other in Georgia in the US. From these sites NEF can produce tens of thousands of acres of miscanthus rhizomes…
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Located in Texas, US, biofuel company KiOR, which is building three plants in Mississippi, has found a buyer for its renewable oil that will be produced at its Columbus-based facility, due to begin operations in 2012. Tuscaloosa's Hunt Refining, a petroleum refining company, will purchase the renewable crude oil, converted from wood chips. 'The announcement is an important milestone for the…
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed technology for ethanol fuel production which complies with the standards set by the Japanese Automotive Standards Organisation (JASO), from lignocellulose (soft cellulose) such as rice straw and barley straw. The Japanese government, academia and the agricultural and industrial sectors in Hyogo Prefecture, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture,…
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Germany-based ethanol producer CropEnergies' revenues reached €472.8 million between 1 March 2010 and 28 February 2011, a 26% increase on the previous financial year's €374.1 million. The company's operating profit was almost four times that of the previous year, increasing from €11.9 million to €45.9 million. The supervisory board decided to follow the recommendation of the…
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Bus operator Arriva has put in an order to acquire more than 100 buses from its supplier Scania. For use in Copenhagen, Denmark's public transport scheme, all buses will have the ability to run on 100% biodiesel. Three versions of the OmniLink model buses have been ordered, including the 14.6m-long kind, which will be able to carry 107 passengers. All of the buses feature Scania's 5-cylinder,…
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A revised version of the ASTM D7566-11, Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons, was approved on 1 July 2011. The new specification means that up to 50% renewable fuels can now be blended with traditional fossil jet fuel. These renewable fuel components are derived from vegetable oil-containing feedstocks, including algae, camelina and jatropha, or tallow. The…
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Maple Energy, an integrated energy company, is expected to complete construction and begin commercial operations at its ongoing ethanol project in Q4 2011. The $254 million (€175 million) greenfield ethanol project, located in Peru, consists of a 7,800 hectare sugarcane plantation and an ethanol plant, which will be able to produce 35 million gallons a year of ethanol from 5,000 tonnes a day…
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In Illinois, US, Coskata, a developer of biofuels technology, has completed the first close of its Series D round of financing. Key investors which have participated in previous rounds include The Blackstone Group, Khosla Ventures, Total Energy Ventures International (part of oil and gas giant Total), ATV, Globespan Capital Partners, General Motors, Arancia, and Sumitomo. 'We are very pleased…
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In Australia, major oil companies are ceasing to offer E10 at their petrol stations in Queensland and Victoria. The move is said to come following severe flooding in Queensland, which affected supplies for around six months. Additionally, Shell Australia said it faced issues with E10 prior to the floods, as demand was low compared to that for 'premium products and diesel'. However an ethanol…
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Extreme Biodiesel, a wholly owned subsidiary of BookMerge Technology, will acquire unwanted virgin oils from a New York, US-based warehousing company. Extreme will purchase the oil leftover from the warehouse company's facilities in the south of California. To date Extreme has collected 4,000 gallons at a price much lower than the virgin oil market. This oil, combined with waste oil collected…
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US-based Alabama Renewable Energy is looking to invest in a new biodiesel plant at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The company has asked for a six-month option on an empty facility located on 3.5 acres of land, according to The Advocate. The facility was previously used as a specialty chemicals plant and has road, rail, pipeline and shipping infrastructure. The 30 million gallon a…
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