Other News

Boeing is developing its initiative with South African Airways (SAA) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) to create further opportunities to help smallhold farmers in southern Africa grow crops that generate sustainable fuels. The programme's purpose is to aid farmers who own small plots of land, by enabling them to enter into the sustainable biofuels and biomaterials…
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A major renewable energy plant in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, which has been in planning for seven years, is set to start preliminary work in September. Silvapen Group, the South African – Brazilian company, plans to build the proposed R1.2 billion (€80 million) sugar-to-ethanol distillery using Brazilian technology. The distillery, which is set on 15,000 ha of land, in the middle of a…
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China New Energy has announced that it will not be continuing with its acquisition of BAPP Ethanol Holdings following due diligence findings. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was entered by the bioenergy engineering and technology company to acquire BAPP Ethanol in December last year. At the time, China New Energy said that BAPP will have an indirect 75% interest in Harbin China Distillery…
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In New York, US, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the State will commit $3 million (€2.19 million) to the Eastman Business Park (EBP) Bioscience Manufacturing Centre in Rochester which will begin construction later this year. The construction of the $25 million, 60,000 ft2 facility will improve equipment for converting non-food plant materials into biofuels and biochemical and is…
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UPM's first fleet tests of renewable diesel have proved that its BioVerno works in cars just as well as any regular diesel, the company has announced. The fleet tests were conducted by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, starting in May last year and running until early 2014. Tests focused on investigating UPM's renewable diesel in terms of fuel functionality in engine and fuel…
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Gasrec, a European supplier of liquefied gas fuel to the transport sector, has opened a dedicated bio-LNG filling station at Arla Foods’ (AF) new £150 million (€183.5 million) dairy in the UK, which is set to become the country’s first zero carbon dairy. The partnership is set to develop a strategy to introduce low emission bio-LNG fuel for AF’s heavy goods vehicle…
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Targray, a North American biofuel supplier, has announced a new inventory location for biodiesel in Bakersfield, California, US. Service for B99 and B100 began in mid-February 2014. Targray will supply biodiesel to its growing customer base in California using the terminal's 24/7 truck rack. 'Targray has been a major supplier of biodiesel by railcar to the California market. We are pleased to…
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United Petroleum says it is shutting down the Dalby biorefinery in Queensland, Australia, due to a lack of government support and a drop in demand for fuel-grade ethanol. According to a statement released by the company, the Australian government is 'no longer interested in subsidising the ethanol industry'. The biorefinery is currently closed for maintenance, a move influenced by high sorghum…
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The recent free trade agreement between Australia and Korea has strengthened the proposal for a $90 million (€65 million) ethanol plant to be constructed in New South Wales, Australia. Located in a 400km area of Deniliquin, the project is awaiting signature from Korean investors. The plant, which will produce fuel and by-products from grain, will have the capacity to produce 110,000 kl of…
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A biofuel initiative in India to mix pongemia oil with diesel has been stopped as the utility has to purchase fuel in the open market. The state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has operated under the initiative for six years, but price hikes on bulk purchase of diesel meant it was incurring losses through purchasing on the open market and couldnot blend using public…
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Dreyfus Unit is one of several companies thought to be sending a shipment of US ethanol to Brazil, to aid increase in demand, say several parties with knowledge of the shipment. 3.56 million gallons of ethanol are scheduled to be delivered this week by the tanker Nordisle, stopping at ports Miramar, Itaqui and Suape. Brazil is the world's second-largest producer of ethanol, and its supply is…
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Construction of a cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa, US, is due to be finalised in the coming months and should be operating by June. Poet-DSM, a joint operation between US ethanol maker POET and Dutch food and chemicals group DSM, cost a reported $250 million (4181.7 million) and will produce 7-12 million gallons of ethanol this year using cobs and other corn stover. Its eventual annual…
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Michigan State University scientists have created a new technology that improves algae's biofuel properties. The team's environmental photobioreactor (ePBR) – the first of its kind - grows algae, by imitating its complex and natural habitats. To identify which forms of algae produce the most oil when removed from the laboratory-based pond and placed into real-life, external settings, the…
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