Malaysia aims to delay the nationwide adoption of plans to step up the use of palm oil in biodiesel, the Malaysian Biodiesel Association said following movement curbs imposed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. The world's second-largest producer of palm oil, Malaysia has one of the highest numbers of infections in the region with more than 5,000 cases, 85 of whom have... [Read More]

Two more bioethanol plants in Iowa and Nebraska are to close as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit the biofuels industry. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said the facilities will go offline as ‘ethanol production hits a record-breaking low, even as stockpiles hit a new record-breaking high’. She said: “The evaporation of fuel demand due to COVID-19 has been a... [Read More]

Malaysian palm oil producers have been urged to use technology to improve yield as the industry wrestles with concerns about sustainability, the chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) revealed. Malaysia, the world’s second biggest palm oil producer, has set a cap of 6.5 million hectares on the area under palm oil cultivation. In 2019, the total area planted... [Read More]

Expectations of another sub-standard rapeseed harvest in Germany are the driving force behind oil mills' efforts to procure supplies for the coming season well in advance, according to the German oilseed growers‘ association. The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP), which took a closer look at the 2020 sowing trends, has warned about stagnating... [Read More]

The German Bioethanol Industry Association (BDBe) has released market data for the production and consumption of certified sustainable bioethanol for the last year. It revealed that German bioethanol production fell last year to 542,699 tonnes – which is 12.8% less than in the previous year. Sales of bioethanol were roughly the same with the previous year, with the... [Read More]

Neste has joined an alliance of cross-party political decision-makers, businesses, NGOs and other stakeholders in a call for a ‘green recovery’ after the coronavirus, Covid-19, crisis in Europe. The alliance places the fight against climate change at the core of the economic strategy in contributing to the quick recovery of the economies and the societies in Europe.... [Read More]

Bavarian ship management company Minship and its subsidiary Minmarine have announced that a bulk carrier in their fleet of managed vessels has successfully bunkered biofuel at the Port of Rotterdam. The biofuel bunkered by the 2009-built bulk carrier M/V Trudy on April 17 was GoodFuels’ sustainable biofuel oil MR1-100, which is a second generation sustainable biofuel... [Read More]

Redcar-based Nova Pangaea Technologies converts unwanted plant biomass into natural platform chemicals and biofuels. We spoke to Sarah Ellerby, the company’s CEO 1. Can you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit more about Nova Pangaea Technologies? I was born and bred in Yorkshire and just returned to the area after 18 years in in the US. I’ve worked... [Read More]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering whether to let oil refineries stop adding ethanol to their fuels. Oil prices have been falling steadily amid a number of Trump administration efforts to ease financial pressure on the industry. Ethanol producers, however, say they have likewise been affected as its economy suffers due to the coronavirus pandemic. In... [Read More]

The Biofuels International Conference and Expo that was due to take place in October has been moved to a the new date of 23 and 24 March next year due to the global pandemic. It is hoped that life and business will have returned to some sense of normality by the originally slated date, but there is no guarantee of this. Some organisations may still have travel restrictions... [Read More]

Royal Dutch Shell has revealed the oil and gas sector’s extensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, stating its plans depended on its customers also mitigating emissions. Oil and gas producers have announced spending cuts as oil prices have hit 18-year lows and drastic restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the new coronavirus... [Read More]

Worldwide soybean output is expected to increase to a record high, according to the International Grain Council (ICG). The ICG estimates another bumper crop in Brazil, a standard US crop and production increases in smaller soy-countries will assist the market in 2020/21. After the almost one-fifth decline in production in the past season, the IGC estimates a rebound... [Read More]

Canada’s largest and longest-running conference on the bioeconomy will be postponed for 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for June 9-11 in Prince George, the Canadian Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition will now be held on June 22-24 next year at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre. The bioeconomy represents the development... [Read More]

European renewable ethanol producers have asked the European Commission to consider addressing challenges that have arisen from shifting market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis. In a letter sent to several Commissioners, ePURE (the European renewable ethanol association) highlighted the conditions facing the European industry as demand has shifted... [Read More]