Other News

Glycerin marketing and refining company BenchMark Energy has acquired 49% of Energy Partners, a renewable energy business that works in the bio-based industry. Energy Partners is currently in talks with the city of Grand Forks in North Dakota to build a 21,600 square foot glycerin processing facility. The facility is expected to be complete mid-2012 and will employee 29 employees and produce…
Read More »

Renewable energy company Abengoa is to open a bioethanol plant in Paysandú, Uruguay, after signing a contract with Alcoholes de Uruguay. The bioethanol plant will produce about 70 million litres of ethanol a year and 50,000 tonnes of distillers grains. For feedstocks, the plant will use sorghum, maize, barley and wheat; and will process the materials using dry milling and batch…
Read More »

Renewable fuel company Amyris has signed a memorandum of understanding with ethanol producer ETH Bioenergia to produce renewable farnesene called Biofene. The companies will use up to 2 million tonnes of sugar cane a year, which they will crush at an ETH greenfield mill in Brazil. Although ETH will control the joint venture, Amyris will market the Biofene that is produced on the site. Production…
Read More »

Greenleaf Biofuels has closed full project funding needed for its biodiesel plant, which it is developed in New Haven, Connecticut, US. Sovereign Bank will provide the funds needed Greenleaf's first project, before the Connecticut Investment Corporation (CTCIC) and the SBA 504 program assume almost half of this loan when the plant comes online. In addition to Sovereign and CTCIC, the State of CT…
Read More »

Operations have begun at Futurol's demonstration-scale bioethanol plant, located in Pomade and Bazancourt, France. The facility required a $104.5 million investment (€75 million), 40% of which was supplied by the National Innovation Agency, as well as partnerships with both public and private organisations, such as the National Agricultural Research Institute. Development of the project…
Read More »

In China, steel producer Shougang Group and its New Zealand-based partner Shougang TangMing are looking to reduce their carbon footprint through the installation of clean energy technology at their steel mills across the world. Under a joint venture agreement with LanzaTech, Beijing-headquartered Shougang will construct a demo-scale plant at one of its steel mills, before this is quickly scaled…
Read More »

Renewable fuels producer Pacific Ethanol has entered into an agreement with Pacific Ethanol Management Services (Pacific Services), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Ethanol, and ZeaChem. Together the companies will provide operations, maintenance and accounting services for ZeaChem's Boardman, Oregon, US-based biorefinery. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacific Services will provide…
Read More »

In Italy, production capacity is predicted to drop by 18% as growing quantities of cheap imports continue to impact the country's output. By the end of this year, production is expected to reach 600,000 tonnes, with producers importing palm oil and rapeseed being hit the hardest. Cheap imports are expected to account for around 70% of Italy's domestic demand this year. Today, Italy is mandated to…
Read More »

Air France has successfully completed a flight powered by biofuel. The Airbus A321 flew from Toulouse and Paris/Orly, using a 50/50 blend of biofuels and aviation fuel in both engines. This biofuel/jet fuel mix, combined with the use of 'optimised' air traffic management (ATM) procedures, such as continuous descent approach, helped to slash the flight's CO2 emissions by 50%. Airbus said the…
Read More »

In a new collaboration, energy producer Solena and Scandinavian Airlines System International (SAS) are to develop a bio-jet fuel project at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport. The project will handle biomass such as MSW. These waste materials is will be gasified, with the resulting syngas being made into renewable aviation fuel. Following the completion of this project, the partners hope to establish…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

A new study says biofuels produced from woody biomass from forest on the west coast of the US can increase carbon emissions by ‘at least 14%’ if operations are not efficient enough. The research, released by the scientists from the College of Forestry at Oregon State University and other institutions in Germany and France, looked at 80 forest types in 19 eco-regions in Oregon,…
Read More »