Other News

Swedfund has invested €10 million into Addax Bioenergy, a company based in Sierra Leone. Swedfund’s investment, which Addax & Oryx is also a part of, will be the biggest private sector agriculture investment into the country and will be added to a total investment of €267 million. The greenfield projects will include the construction of an ethanol refinery and a biomass power…
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Science-based products and services company DuPont has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Danisco, a global enzyme and speciality food ingredients company. The transaction would see DuPont acquire Danisco for $5.8 billion (€4.4 billion) cash. It will also take on Danisco’s net debt of $500 million. Speaking about the deal DuPont’s chair and CEO Ellen…
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In Washington, US, biofuels for use in the aviation industry could be brought to market by 2015. Aerospace company Boeing Co. is doing its part and is working with others throughout the industry in order for 1% of all aviation fuel to come from biofuels within four years' time. Although 1% does not sound like a significant amount, Boeing Commercial Airplane's director of environment and aviation…
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VG Energy, a renewable energy company, has released a report claiming that the company's proprietary technology could produce biofuels derived from algae at costs competitive with crude oil prices. The study found that the biodiesel could be produced at $94 (€67.9) per barrel. 'The introduction of VG Energy's additives offers the ability to knock down the cost of algal oil production by…
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Energy supplier Sprague Energy of White Plains, New York, in the US, and privately owned Biodico have launched a pilot programme – Bio Genset – that will encourage the use of biodiesel and biodiesel blends in diesel-powered generators and power units, with a goal to reduce emissions from diesel fuel generators, decrease the dependence on foreign oil and promote local jobs. The New…
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Canada-based Core BioFuel, a biofuels firm dedicated to the commercialisation of a biomass-to-fuel production process, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an un-named energy project developer. The MoU will see the development of four Core-licensed biorefineries in the Western Hemisphere, which will utilise Core's patent-pending wood-to-fuel technology for a preliminary four-year…
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Iveco has revealed its Iveco Trakker Bi-Fuel Ethanol-Diesel automobile in Ribeirao Preto. Iveco is a subsidiary of its holding company Fiat Industrial and the Iveco Trakker Bi-Fuel Ethanol-Diesel vehicle was developed together with technology company Bosch. The truck has been fitted with an FPT Industrial Cursor 360CvCommon Rail Cursor nine engine, which is powered by a combination of ethanol and…
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In the area of Rosario in Argentina, agricultural company Louis Dreyfus is planning to build a biodiesel plant. Costing the company $40 million (€28 million), the plant will produce 300,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year from soya oil. Argentina is one of the largest exporters of soya oil-based biodiesel in the world. The new facility will be located in the town of General Lagos. Louis Dreyfus…
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Renewable Energy Group (REG), the largest biodiesel producer in the US, has finalised the acquisition of the majority of SoyMor Biodiesel's Albert Lea, Minnesota assets. The assets include the company's biodiesel plant and the soya lecithin facility assets of SoyMor Cooperative in exchange for common stock and the assumption of certain liabilities. The biodiesel plant has been out of service…
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Rosetta Green, an Israel-based public company, which develops improved plants traits for the agriculture and biofuel industries, has been awarded a three-year grant from the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation (CIRDF). The grant will fund a project between Rosetta Green and Canada's Agrisoma Biosciences. Together the two companies will work to develop and improve certain…
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In the US, an idled biodiesel production facility in Moundville, Alabama, has become the most recent in a long line of soya-based biodiesel plants to close down in the region. In 2008, five biodiesel plants of this kind were operational in Alabama, however only one large-scale plant remains today – Creaola. Green River Biodiesel acquired the facility in 2008 but by 2009 most of its workers…
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In Leamington, Ontario, Canada, New Energy Farms (NEF) has constructed its energy crop bioproducts facility. The 30,000 square foot plant converts locally grown energy crops into low carbon bioproducts. It also generates 265kW of renewable electricity from solar panels fitted in the roof. Pyramid and Prism Farms, partners of NEF, built the site, which currently handles 1,000 hectares of…
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Gruppo Mossi and Ghisolfi (M&G), the Italian company behind the construction of the world’s first industrial second generation ethanol producing facility, has created a joint venture with TPG Capital and TPG Biotech to license the company’s Proesa technology, called Beta Renewables. As part of a €250 million investment into Beta Renewables, the technology will be used in the…
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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…
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