Other News

A new joint venture has been formed between renewable energy solutions provider Global Earth Energy (GLER) and Innovated Concepts of Ethanol, Corp. (ICE), a South Dakota, US-based biorefining, consulting and services firm. 'The joint venture will have estimated gross revenues of $80 million (€57.9 million) per year for a total revenue of $800 million for the life of the agreement with a…
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A US air force test pilot successfully flew an A-10 Thunderbolt II jet aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base on March 25, testing a blend of biomass-derived and conventional JP-8 jet fuel. It was the first time such a flight had been carried out using this specific jet fuel blend. The biomass fuel was created from camelina oil, a flowering plant, and the fuel is called hydro-treated renewable jet…
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Gevo, a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, has signed an engineering and consulting agreement with Mustang Engineering to convert Gevo’s renewable isobutanol into bio-jet fuel. The agreement will focus on the downstream processing of isobutanol to paraffinic kerosene (jet fuel) for jet engine testing, airline suitability flights and advancing commercial…
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One of the UK's biggest ethanol production plants is due to temporarily close following unfavourable market conditions. Ethanol producer Ensus owns the Wilton, Teesside-based facility, which will be shut down at the end of May 2011 for up to four months. According to Ensus, the closure can be attributed to a slump in customer demand, coupled with competition from the US. However, Ensus goes on to…
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China's largest producer and supplier of oil and gas China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, is planning to invest RMB10 billion (€1 billion) in the development of new energy sources in 2020, according to reports. The news comes after the corporation's vice president Hu Wenrui posted on an forum that CNPC will be looking into the production of ethanol and biodiesel, in addition to…
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Thomson Airways will become the UK's first airline to fly passengers on a plane powered by biofuels. The flight will take off from Birmingham airport before landing in Palma, Majorca, on 28 July 2011. Weekly flights of the same kind will then follow the same route from September. It is thought Thomson Airways' biofuel-powered flights between Birmingham and Palma will take place during the summer…
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In the US, the state of New Jersey's first biodiesel-powered school bus has hit the sack, after being retired in June at the end of the 2010/2011 school year. The bus, which could be nation's first to run on a blend of 20% biodiesel (B20), had been in operation since 1998, during which time it consumed more than 28,000 gallons of biodiesel. 'Similar to the biodiesel industry, the bus certainly…
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In Japan, Hitachi Zosen has teamed up with the city of Kyoto and Kumamoto University to begin converting municipal waste into ethanol on a trial basis. The initiative will begin in April 2012, using waste products from households and businesses. The biofuel produced will be used to fuel cars and as boiler fuel for factories. The process, which involves combining the waste feedstock with water and…
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In the US, ethanol producer Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings' new ethanol plant was due to come online in October this year but this has been put back and the facility will now open in early 2012. Located in Canton, Illinois, the arrival of winter has ceased construction work, which means the plant will not be ready until next year. Additionally, uncertainty surrounding the its ability to…
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Biofuels International Canada expo & conference is now less than a week away but delegate tickets are still available. Biofuels International Canada will be held on 3-4 October in the Telus Convention Centre, Calgary, Alberta. For your chance to hear from industry experts discussing topics such as policy, sustainability, finance, technology, partnerships, feedstocks and provincial insights,…
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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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Kappa Ethanol in Nebraska, US is expanding its transportation infrastructure with the addition of more than four miles of rail track. This will result in Kappa being able to transport 96 rail cars of ethanol to destinations such as California and Texas, instead of just one. Construction on the new infrastructure commenced in October and it is slated for completion by 31 December.
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Biomass to ethanol producer TMO Renewables says it has raised £7.6 million (€9 million) in a financing round from new and current shareholders. This will be combined with the £4.6 million that was raised at the beginning of the year, and will be used to help the company come into commercialisation. The company is working with plant owners and land official from Minas Gerais, a…
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It has been out of service since 2009 and now US, Maryland-based biodiesel firm Chesapeake Green Fuels (CGF) has retained Equity Partners to find a buyer for its biodiesel production plant in Clayton. The facility was designed by Desmet and built back in 2006 by Fagen. Located 15 miles north of Dover, Delaware, and 60 miles south of Philadelphia, the plant is ideally situated to distribute and…
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