Other News

California-based Solazyme has raised $57 million (€40 million) in its run up to commercialise algae-based biodiesel. Solazyme has now raised a total of more than $76 million with new investors including VantagePoint Partners. The producer grows algae in open ponds or inside photobioreactors. Solazyme grows algae in the dark and feeds them biomass and industrial by-products, including…
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The EU has launched a biogas project as a solution to the mounting agricultural waste on farms in the continent. The Agrobiogas project with €2.9 million in funding has set its sights on developing anaerobic digestion technology, which offers an effective way to treat agricultural waste while being a realistic option for farmers. The project will encourage the use of biogas via anaerobic…
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Energy company Eon has announced that plans to build a biomass-fired power generation facility in Bristol, UK, are on schedule and will begin construction next year pending permission. The proposed renewable energy plant will have an output of 150MW and will provide enough carbon-neutral electricity to supply more than 200,000 homes. Eon estimates that by burning wood, the plant will be able to…
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The provincial government in Saskatchewan, Canada, has signed an agreement with biotechnology company Iogen to develop the province’s first cellulosic ethanol plant. It was announced that the plant is to be situated at the former Domtar-owned pulp and sawmill in Big River. Iogen will operate the plant, which will be a commercial-scale expansion of its wheat straw ethanol demonstration plant…
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In southeast Asia the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that the government will promote the production of biofuel in the wake of year-long fluctuations in imported fossil fuel prices. Electricity Department Acting Director General Hatsady Sisoulath said the department was now drafting a national strategy on biofuel development, as an important reference for promoting biofuel…
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Food giant Cargill has started production at its new glycerine refinery in Frankfurt, Germany. The new plant, completed in nine months, is located adjacent to Cargill’s existing biodiesel production facility in the Höchst Industrial Park. The neighbouring biodiesel plant will provide the refinery’s supply of crude glycerine, as the full integration of these facilities is expected to…
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The European Commission has submitted a proposal to extend the temporary tariffs imposed on imports of US biodiesel for up to five years. The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs passed in March were established in order to protect European biodiesel producers by counteracting the payments the US gives its own producers. European biofuel producers stressed that US subsidies triggered an…
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Finland-based Neste Oil laid the foundation stone for Europe’s largest renewable diesel plant last week, coinciding with the second annual Biofuels International expo & conference in the Netherlands. The Rotterdam plant will have an annual production capacity of 800,000 tonnes. The investment cost of the plant is estimated to be €670 million, and it will create over 100 jobs. While…
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The partnership between BP and DuPont to accelerate its next generation clean renewable fuels has successfully tested biobutanol over 1.3 million miles in an ordinary car. In an exclusive interview for the June issue of Biofuels International magazine BP's Philip New says typical blends of around 16% were used without the need for modifications. Like ethanol, biobutanol can be produced…
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Chinese bioenergy producer Gushan Environmental Energy has announced the temporary suspension of production at its subsidiary Fujian Gushan Biodiesel Energy following a dispute with a local tax authority concerning consumption tax issues. In January consumption tax rates on diesel products were levied, but Gushan has appealed to the State Administration of Taxation of Fujian Province Fujian SAT…
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In the US, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is requesting more transparency over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The RFA says many of the models, data sets, and other pertinent pieces of information used by EPA for its lifecycle analysis are not publicly available, preventing third parties like the RFA from replicating and…
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Scientists in Wales, UK, are looking into a research project aiming to turn grass into a green transport fuel. The £1 million (€1.16 million) ‘grassohol’ research project aims to develop commercially and economically viable processes to make ethanol from perennial ryegrass, the most commonly sown grass in the UK, which is normally used for grazing or silage. The project, led by the…
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Biomass plant specialist Helius Energy has announced that it has seen profits for the last six months to 31 March 2009, and has projected expansion plans to add a third multi-million-pound plant to its portfolio. The UK-based company has reported an £18,000 (€20,824) profit up from a loss of £1.6 million at the same point last year. The company believes it is now in a strong position to…
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US President Barack Obama has proposed rules requiring higher fuel economy (and lower carbon dioxide emissions) standards for cars. Under the rules, new passenger vehicles and light trucks must average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The move is another step towards proposed biofuel mandates to clean up cars and the environment. The move looks to mirror the national rules previously proposed in…
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