Other News

Indonesia and South Korea have agreed to develop a seaweed-based biofuel in an attempt to encourage green energy in the two countries. The use of seaweed is gaining support from environmentalists who have criticised the use of land-based raw materials such as palm oil, maize and sugarcane as causing deforestation across Indonesia's tropical forests. Indonesia's vast sea territory and…
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Biodiesel start-up company SarTec has announced it expects its production facility in Minnesota, US, to begin operations in Q2 this year. The capacity of the plant will reach approximately 3 million gallons a year operating with the name Ever Cat Fuels. In 2008 Augsburg College and SarTec announced the discovery of a chemical process that could help develop a new type of biofuel. Researchers…
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Texas-based Global Alternative Fuels will expand its El Paso biodiesel plant from 5 mgy to 15 mgy. The company is finalising the engineering for the $12 million (€9.5 million) expansion. The producer plans to break ground in Q2. ‘Our current infrastructure allows for a fast implementation schedule,’ Carlos Guzmán, president and CEO of Global Alternative Fuels, comments. ‘We're…
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Lionel Clarke, Global strategic programme manager for Innovation at Shell Global Solutions, joins the list of 40 high level speakers at Biofuels International expo & conference 2009. Shell is a world leader in R&D into next generation biofuels. Its technology division Shell Global Solutions has a dedicated bio-team working at several centres around the world and has forged multiple…
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South Dakota, US-based KL Energy and Prairie Green Renewable Energy of Alberta, Canada, are conducting a joint effort to develop a cellulosic ethanol plant near Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, Canada. The companies plan to build a plant that initially provides 5mgy of cellulose ethanol to the Saskatchewan market. Plans include a second facility that will allow doubling production. The Northeast…
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The Iowa Power Fund Board has approved a $14.75 million (€11.7 million) contract with Poet for the development of a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, US. Poet’s Project Liberty will add 25 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol production capacity to an existing grain-to-ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The project is jointly funded by Poet, the United States…
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Honda Motor company has announced an agreement for the construction of a new cellulosic ethanol research facility in Japan. Honda plans to build a single 1,050m2 building as a testing facility. The construction is scheduled to begin in April 2009, with operations targeted for November 2009. The new Kazusa-branch facility of Honda R&D Fundamental Technology Research Center, will be built…
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UK-based Bentley Motors, one of the latest vehicle manufacturers to announce it is developing bioethanol-powered versions of its cars, is to give the keynote presentation at this year’s Biofuels International expo & conference. The two day conference and exhibition will be held on the 27-28 May at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. The event aims to bring together medium-to-large…
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An early morning fire at Hardin County Fuel in Texas, US, caused an estimated $300,000 (€234,000) in equipment and building damage and has halted biofuels production. Nearly all of the facility’s operating equipment was destroyed, along with the building it was being housed in on Friday 20 February. Fuel being stored on the property was not damaged. Biofuel contains no explosive agents.…
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The US could produce enough ethanol to displace nearly a third of all petrol use by 2030, a study by New Mexico-based Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors concludes. The researchers found that annual ethanol production from plant waste and energy crops could reach 90 billion gallons by that date, with 75 billion gallons coming from cellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, corn…
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The European Commission (EC) plans to propose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel from the US. The Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-country European Union, is due to propose the measures at a March meeting of EU national trade officials, known as the anti-dumping committee. The anti-dumping duties would range from €2-19 per 100kg and the anti-subsidy…
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Sudan's first ethanol plant, state-owned Kenana Sugar Co.'s (KSC), is due to begin operations at the end of March. Situated within the KSC complex, 250km south of Khartoum, the plant is expected to produce about 61 million litres a year of alcohol from molasses made in the country. The plant was built by Brazil's Dedini Industrias de Base. KSC is contracted to supply 5 million…
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Danish biotech pioneer Inbicon has announced a series of technical and marketing initiatives for bringing commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol to the US. Under the banner of The New Ethanol, and in collaboration with US-based G-team, Inbicon will incorporate its proprietary technology into a new pathway for converting biomass to ethanol. CEO Niels Henriksen says: ‘Our new model of the…
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