Other News

On 30 November 2016, the European Commission published its long awaited revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED) also known as RED II. In its proposals, the EC made plans to minimise Europe’s Indirect Land-Use Change (ILC) impacts. The EC wants to reduce the maximum contribution of crop-based biofuels such as ethanol from a maximum of 7% of road and rail energy in 2021 to 3.8% in 2030. The…
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Denmark-based utility energy firm Dong Energy has made a commitment to renewables and agreed to divest its entire oil and gas business to Ineos in a deal worth up to $1.3bn (€1.16bn). The transaction includes production, development and exploration sites off Denmark, Norway and west of Shetland. Ineos said the move would make it the biggest private group operating in the North Sea. The…
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The global energy transition needs to speed up in order to tackle climate change, according to industry experts. The energy revolution will also not be “smooth” and will be driven largely by disruptive consumers as they run towards decentralised generation. That was the overall conclusion theme reached by energy professionals during the first session of yesterday’s (24 May,2017)…
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The renewable energy sector employs 9.8 million people worldwide, according to a newly published study from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). “Falling costs and enabling policies have steadily driven up investment and employment in renewable energy worldwide since IRENA’s first annual assessment in 2012, when just over seven million people were working in the…
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UPM Biofuels has received an RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) certificate for its UPM BioVerno renewable diesel and naphtha and its production sidestreams turpentine and pitch (resin). RSB verifies the sustainability and reliability of feedstock sourcing and production.  In RSB certification, the sustainability of biofuels is evaluated against 12 principles which…
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Bioenergy researchers are looking for ways to increase the efficiency of biofuel production in an unusual place – fungi. Finding a cost-effective way to breakdown bioenergy crops is one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable biofuels production. A team from the University of California, Santa Barbara are focusing their research on the estimated 1.5 million species of fungi on earth which…
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US advanced biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) has hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the company’s operations centre in Amsterdam. The team in Amsterdam will support the company’s international operations and work closely with the operations center in Ames, Iowa.  REG utilises an integrated procurement, distribution, and logistics network to…
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Japanese company Euglena is looking to boost its efforts to commercialise microalgae jetfuel by 2020. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the company is arranging equity tie ups with five companies in a bid to obtain the finances to accelerate its efforts. Tokyo Euglena will allocate new shares to the companies as early as June, in turn securing 1.1 billion yen (€8.8 million) for a new biojet…
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US advanced biofuels company Gevo announced that it was selected to collaborate with researchers at the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of DOE’s Small Business Vouchers (SBV) programme. The SBV programme provides funding for DOE’s national laboratories to partner with selected US businesses, enabling these clean technology companies to leverage the…
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A new research project, called To-Syn-Fuel, aims to build up, operate and demonstrate the production of synthetic fuels and green hydrogen from sewage sludge. The To-Syn-Fuel project is funded by Horizon 2020, the EU’s new research and innovation programme. It comes in the wake of the European Commission’s proposed Renewable Energy Directive for the post 2020 period, dubbed RED II.…
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The Renewable Energy Association (REA), a UK-based trade body for the renewables industry, has backed the Conservative Party manifesto. The manifesto was released earlier today (18 May, 2017). Commenting on the release of the Conservative Party Manifesto, Nina Skorupska, CEO of the Renewable Energy Association said: “The manifesto is a solid building block for the transition to a…
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Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding the workings of the ‘third’ method of microbial production, known as ‘flavin-based electron bifurcation’ (FBEB). Their findings could be hugely significant for the world of microbial energy and biofuels. The discovery of FBEB led to a drastic shift in the way scientists think about how organisms obtain energy. Now,…
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The Swedish Bioenergy Association, Svebio, is organising the 2nd edition of the advanced biofuels conference. It will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 17-19 May. The conference is intended for those who are interested in creating a sustainable transport sector. Speakers and delegates will be policy makers and politicians, leading scientists, researchers, engineers, as well as executives and…
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