Other News

A new €12.7 million biomass fuel production plant will be built in Michigan, US. The plant will be built by Cleveland’s Cliffs Natural Resources subsidiary RenewaFuel, on the Telkite Technology Park, which is located at Sawyer Airport near Marquette. The plant will produce 150,000 tons per year of high-energy biofuel cubes, which are a mixture of sustainably collected wood and agricultural…
Read More »

A Philippines’ based producer of biodiesel, resins and olechemicals has reported a 3% increase in profits after the government implemented a B2 blend. Chemrez Technologies, located in Manila, saw profits increase to €5.3 million in the first 9 months of 2009, up from €5.1 million in the same period last year. The company sales increased by 63% when it implemented B2, which is a 2%…
Read More »

Kenya has introduced a new five-year strategy for developing biodiesel as a clean source of energy. The country hopes the move to biodiesel will cut the country free from its reliance on fossil fuel imports. The strategy aims to tackle global warming and recommends using environmentally friendly green fuel made from jatropha and other locally grown trees for biodiesel production. Jatropha is…
Read More »

Biofuel producer Hero BX recently received a $1.6 million (€1.1 million) grant to expand production by 10 million gallons per year. The Pennsylvania, US based company expects to expand its use of farm-raised feedstocks, which would benefit farmers in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. CEO Leonard Kosar said: ‘Unlike many other companies that are simply developing technologies to use second…
Read More »

One of China’s largest biogas projects, the 20,000m3 Minhe biogas project in Shandong, is now successfully connected to the grid. Minhe is the first Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, which has been registered in Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board, United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change, with annual revenue of €0.6 million. The project will handle…
Read More »

Germany-based biofuels company Verbio's biodiesel output took a steep fall in the first half of 2009. The company’s biodiesel production fell from 300,000 tonnes to 288,000 tonnes. This led to reduced bioethanol prices, which caused a loss for the company. Verbio posted a nine month loss of €14.9 million. Verbio blames Germany’s increased taxes on biodiesel. This cut sales at petrol…
Read More »

More than $24 million (€16.1 million) has been awarded to various projects by the US Department of Agriculture and Energy (USDA) to help support research into biofuels, bioenergy and biobased products. The projects that will be aided by these grants include Gevo, Exelus, Oklahoma State University, Itaconix, Purdue University and GE Global Research. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, said: ‘The…
Read More »

In the US, Epec Biofuels Holdings and DPG Investments have established a joint venture to provide funds for biofuels projects. The two entities have formed Epec Finance, which will provide project financing to Epec Biofuels and select financing initiatives in the biofuels and renewable energy sectors. Epec Finance will fund up to $376 million (€253.5 million) of project financing for Epec…
Read More »

Australia will soon have its first fully self-sustainable biodiesel plant operating in the next few weeks. The plant, situated in Moree, New South Wales, will use algae ponds to create biodiesel, stock feeds and water for the local community. Talks about the new plant began 12 months ago between CubicQED and the Moree Plains Shire Council. The plant has garnered significant interest from…
Read More »

An Indian company has entered into a sweet sugar and ethanol deal in Brazil. Shree Renuka Sugars, one of the largest producers in the country, has acquired Brazil’s Vale Do Ivaí SA Açúcar e Álcool (VDI) for $240 million (€161.3 million). The acquisition of VDI includes two sugar and ethanol production facilities in the southern Brazilian state of Parana, with a combined cane crushing…
Read More »

Korean motorists may be using more eco-friendly fuels in their cars in just a few years’ time. The introduction of a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) system, which would mandate the use of a mixture of biofuels and petrol in vehicles, is currently under consideration. The government will review its plans and if everything works out the RFS system could be implemented as early as 2013. The RFS…
Read More »

While ethanol plants in the US are idling, Nebraska-headquartered Green Plains Renewable Energy facilities are running at full capacity. ‘We achieved a milestone by producing at 100% of operating capacity in September, hitting our 480 million gallon annualised run rate shortly after we acquired and began operations at the two plants in Nebraska,’ Todd Becker, president and CEO at Green…
Read More »

Poet Energy, the US’ largest corn-based ethanol producer, sees the race between cellulosic ethanol and petrol prices head-to-head by 2011. Poet’s one-year-old pilot plant in South Dakota has minimised the cost of making ethanol from corn cobs from $4.13 (€2.77) a gallon to $2.35 a gallon by slimming down capital costs and using an improved cocktail of enzymes. ‘Two years ago I would…
Read More »