Other News

BASF Enzymes and Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) have formally entered into a marketing and sales collaboration agreement with the aim to ‘maximise value to customers in the ethanol market in the United States.’ In the collaboration, BASF’s enzyme portfolio will be used for applications in liquefaction and fermentation to improve fermentation performance. LBDS…
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Air Canada’s 2nd May flight from Edmonton to San Francisco was powered by biofuels, the airline has announced. The 146-seat Airbus A320-200 aircraft was flying the trade delegation led by the Government of Alberta, the City of Edmonton and Edmonton area businesses, to California. According to a represetative from Air Canada, the biofuel used in the flight came from the Alt Air facility in…
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3 May, US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced $78 million (€65.7 million) in new funding opportunities for early-stage biofuels research and development. The money is being administrated through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) are organised into four categories: bioenergy…
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A group of companies including Global Bioenergies, Neste and TechnipFMC have been awarded the money by the European Commission to demonstrate technology that can convert softwood residues into isobutene derivatives for use in gasoline and jetfuel production. Global Bioenergies announced the start of the three-year project on 14 May. The programme’s goal is to convert…
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Struggles and triumphs of the biofuels industry were brought into sharp focus at the Platts 7th Annual Biofuels Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. With speakers from across the biofuels sector, the event at the Grand Hotel Kempinski covered the latest policy updates and struggles facing the industry. Pharoah Le Feuvre, energy analyst at the International Energy Agency, presented a current, medium…
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Fulcrum BioEnergy began site construction for phase 2 of its first waste-to-fuels project, the Sierra BioFuels Plant (Sierra), on 16 May. Sierra will be ‘the US' first’ commercial-scale plant converting a municipal solid waste feedstock that would otherwise be landfilled, into a low-carbon, renewable transportation fuel product. "Launching the final construction phase of Sierra is…
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Researchers have developed new technologies that can be used to convert industrial plants to produce fossil-free heat, electricity, fuel, chemicals and materials. They say the technical potential is enormous: using only Sweden's currently existing power plants, renewable fuels equivalent to 10% of the world's aviation fuel could be produced. The study offers a chance to switch to renewable…
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The City of San Leandro, a suburban city in Alameda County, California has switched all municipal vehicles from using petroleum diesel to only running on Neste MY Renewable Diesel. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a low-carbon fuel produced from renewable and sustainable raw materials. Neste says its diesel cuts greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% while enhancing fleet performance. Neste MY…
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Sweetwater Energy, a Rochester, NY-based biotechnology company and Estonia-based AS Graanul Invest, is going to build a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery that will produce cellulosic sugars and ‘highly pure’ lignin from 50,000 tons of local hardwood each year. In addition, the plant will allow the two companies to work with corporate partners to create and optimise new products…
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The Pasadena Fire Department has switched over ‘much of its fleet apparatus’ from operating on petroleum diesel to using Neste MY Renewable Diesel. At present, the fire department operates one truck, four engines and four rescue ambulances on renewable diesel, and plans to transition the rest of its apparatus by 2019. According to Neste, its MY Renewable Diesel, produced from 100%…
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British MPs from across the political spectrum have written to government ministers demanding action on the introduction of ‘a more environmentally friendly petrol which also supports British industry and farming.’ Specifically, the letter calls for action on E10 – regular unleaded petrol blended with 10% bioethanol. Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Transport Secretary…
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New insights into how plants build cellulose could have import implications for the production of biofuels, according to new research from Penn State University. "Cellulose is the single most abundant biopolymer on earth," said Ying Gu, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and senior author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of…
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Changes to the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will ‘double’ the use of renewable fuels in the UK transport sector, according to a statement from the Department of Transport. Included in the revised (RTFO) are new biofuel targets set to come into force on 15 April. Transport fuels owners who supply 450,000 litres a year or more will be compelled to make sure…
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