Other News

The European Commission (EC) has announced that it will refer Poland to the European Court of Justice for restricting import access to its biofuel and feedstock markets. In a statement, the EC said that “Polish law is not fully in line with EU law”. Polish biofuels law gives preferential treatment to operators who source at least 70% of their liquid or gaseous biomass-based fuel from…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing funds to strengthen biofuel production and keep people who work at renewable energy facilities employed, announced US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. In a statement, the Department said it will invest $8.8 million to boost the production of advanced biofuels in 39 states. In a statement, USDA said that it continues to lead the way in…
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Australia-based Licella Fibre Fuels and Canada-based Canfor Pulp Products, through its subsidiary Canfor Pulp, have signed an agreement to form a joint-venture under the name Licella Pulp Joint Venture. Licella Pulp Joint Venture will investigate opportunities to integrate Licella’s Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) upgrading platform into Canfor Pulp's kraft and mechanical pulp…
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Gevo Inc., a US-based advanced biofuels company, has commenced a review of strategic alternatives and engaged Cowen & Company as a financial advisor to assist in the review. Gevo’s board of directors and its advisor have established a process for outreach to, and engagement with, interested strategic and financial parties. "After careful consideration, including discussions with a range…
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Global heavyweights such as Audi, Novozymes, LanzaTech and DuPont are partnering with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) through a new global initiative called below50, to promote sustainable fuels that can achieve significant carbon reductions. According to WBCSD, a key outcome of…
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More countries around the world are investing in renewable energy and last year spent more than green sources than on new coal and gas-fired power plants, according to a new report. The report is entitled Renewables 2016 Global Status and was published by REN 21, an international body backed by the UN. An estimated 147 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power generation was added globally in…
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Abengoa Bioenergy has stopped operations at its bioethanol plant in Lacq, France. An Abengoa spokeswoman gave a statement to Biofuels International. However, the firm did not disclose what the incident was or the cause of the incident. The statement said: “An incident occurred in one of the fermenters during a scheduled shutdown of the plant for maintenance.  “There were no…
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Sunbird Bioenergy Africa, a biofuels producer which develops projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to sign an Investment Promotional and Protection Agreement (IPPA) on or around 30 June, 2016, in order to push ahead with its Zambian bioethanol project. An IPPA is an international agreement between governments for the promotion and protection of investments made by investors of one…
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Aemetis, a US-based advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, has confirmed that it expects to finalise its acquisition of Edeniq, a US cellulosic ethanol technology company, in June. On 5 May, 2016, Aemetis entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Edeniq.  Edeniq has developed patented innovations that unlock cellulosic and starch sugars through a combination of patented…
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Scientists at the Ontario-based University of Guelph have said they are behind a discovery that could boost the production of biofuels. The researchers were hoping to learn something about starch production when they inserted genetic material from corn into a small flowering plant, called Arabidopsis, often used in lab experiments because of its ease of use and its similarity to some common farm…
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Dutch chemicals giant AkzoNobel and agro-industrial cooperative Royal Cosun have formed a new partnership to develop novel products from cellulose side streams resulting from sugar beet processing.  The partnership will combine Royal Cosun's specialist knowledge in separating and purifying agricultural process side streams with AkzoNobel's expertise in the chemical modification of…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a slight increase in the amount of corn-based ethanol and biofuels blends that will be mixed into gasoline and diesel sold at fuel pumps in 2017. The EPA wants to see 18.8bn gallons blended into the US’ fuel supply in 2017, up 4% from the 18.11bn gallons set for this year. That volume includes 14.8bn for conventional biofuels, mainly…
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A $140 million ethanol plant planned just outside of Onida, South Dakota, US, is having trouble getting off the ground due to legal, financial and regulatory hurdles, according to reports in the Associated Press. The news agency said according to its president and CEO, Walt Wendland,  Ringneck Energy had hoped to start construction this spring and have the plant operating in a year, but the…
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