Other News

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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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,…
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Zimbabwean ethanol producer Green Fuel was forced to stop production at the beginning of last week because it has reached its storage capacity and was unable to offload the product until it received a trading licence from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. However, Green Fuel spokesperson Lilian Muungani said today that they had put the plant back online on Thursday morning. ‘Green Fuel…
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Algae.Tec, an algae production company, has received approval for its demonstration facility in Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia. The facility was approved under the Shoalhaven City Council Environment Planning and Assessment Act and the plant will be used to capture carbon dioxide waste from power stations and manufacturing facilities, feeding the pollution into the algae growth…
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Biofuels company Gevo has been given a $5 million (€3.7 million) grant by the United States Department of Agriculture to develop bio-jet fuel from woody biomass and forest product residues. The grant is part of the $40 million that has been given to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, a consortium led by Washington State University. With the funding, Gevo plans to use woody biomass…
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One hundred and sixty wood pellet producers in 41 US states will receive grants from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand their biomass and biofuel output capacities. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement on 27 September, highlighting that the financial backing will help support the economy and the biofuels market in the US. ‘Renewable energy production will…
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Biodiesel producer Argent Energy Group has been awarded £7 million (€8.1 million) from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to help fund its development. Argent secured £4 million from RBS and £2.95 million from the bank's asset financing division, Lombard. The banking package includes the provision of debt and full-money transmission services. Lombard is funding the purchase…
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The US Navy has flown an MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter on a blend of biofuel and jet fuel, it said on 4 October. The unmanned biofuel-powered flight took place at Webster Field in St. Inigoes, Maryland. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Directorate piloted the aircraft, which used a blend of camelina-based fuel and JP-5 aviation fuel. 'Today's flight marks a significant milestone with Fire Scout…
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In Spain, Iberia and Repsol have flown an Airbus A320 from Madrid to Barcelona on a combination of biofuel and jet fuel. The flight consumed 2,600kg of camelina-derived bio-jet and conventional Jet A-1fuel, which led to a CO2 saving of 1,500kg. Honeywell-UOP manufactured the synthesised paraffin bio-kerosene, while Repsol evaluated and certified it at its Technology Centre. 'The fight against…
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Targa Resources Partners, a supplier of midstream natural gas and natural gas liquid services in the US, has acquired two US-based terminals for refined petroleum products and crude oil storage. The first, Targa Sound Terminal, is located on the Hylebos Waterway in the Port of Tacoma, Washington. It has a capacity of 758,000 barrels and handles refined petroleum products, LPGs and biofuels,…
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In Hugoton, Kansas, US, Abengoa Bioenergy has started building its commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery after it received its PSD Air Quality Construction Permit from the state of Kansas on 16 September. The plant is expected to be under construction for the next two years, creating 300 jobs. When the facility comes online it will produce 23 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol and 65…
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A Boeing 757 flew from Birmingham Airport, UK to Lanzarote on 6 October, on a 50/50 blend of bio-jet fuel derived from cooking oil and conventional jet fuel. The one-off Thomson Airways flight took off at 2.25pm. Two hundred and thirty-two passengers were on board, making it Britain's first biofuel powered commercial flight. Thomson hopes to make biofuel flights a regular occurrence from 2012,…
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Codexis and Raizen Energia, a Brazil-based sugar and ethanol producer, have formed an agreement to improve the way that sugar-based first generation ethanol is produced. As part of the agreement, Raizen's current process for producing ethanol derived from sugar will be enhanced through the implementation of Codexis' CodeEvolver directed evolution technology platform. The CodeEvolver will enhance…
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