News

Heat for a local training barracks for the Swiss army based in Bure, Switzerland will be provided by a new biogas plant. Construction of the Bio Etique Energie plant by Germany-based Weltec Biopower has begun and it will be located in Jura. It hopes to generate an expected heat surplus of 2.6GWh which will be used to heat the nearby barracks. Jura was an attractive location as Weltec was…
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German manufacturer of algae photobioreactors Subitec has secured €4.5 million ($5.4 million) of new venture investment. It claims the money will be used to launch bioreactors on the international market and help to further extend its market position. The investment was raised through German venture capital firms like Fraunhofer Venture, kfWBankengruppe’s ERP-Startfonds and eCapital…
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A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted a 40% jump in the global use of green energy by the year 2017. The IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2012 believes the world’s dependence on fossil fuels will lessen as the use of biopower, wind, solar and hydro will grow. The document focused on eight common renewable energy sources* including…
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US-based advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company Aemetis has acquired ethanol plant owners Cilion, which includes a 55 million gallon per year production plant. The acquisition is set to advance Aemetis’ plans to use the existing ethanol plant’s infrastructure to create a next-generation biorefinery producing advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals, in addition to ethanol and…
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Chemical and biofuels company Gevo has signed a joint development agreement with Beta Renewables to develop an integrated process for the production of bio-based isobutanol from cellulosic biomass. The agreement anticipates production plants will be located where cellulosic feedstocks like switchgrass, miscanthus, agriculture residues and others will be readily available. Depending on the success…
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Austria-based plant manufacturer and technology supplier BDI Bioenergy International has been commissioned to build a multi-feedstock biodiesel plant at the port of Le Harve, France. BDI won the contract worth €16.4 million ($20.1 million) from EcoMotion France (EF) and it involves implementing the entire biodiesel process as well as the assembly and installation of the plant. EF is a…
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Community members of Klamath Falls and Keno in the US will get the chance to discuss their objections over a proposed new biomass plant set for construction by Klamath Falls Bioenergy (KFB). The Oregon Department of Energy has released a notice of contested case proceedings and those opposed to the idea will be able to voice their concerns at a hearing in a court of law this September. Vice…
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US-based biomass energy project developer Patriot Bioenergy (PB) has signed two new agreements to expand its current biomass energy crop development. The international partnerships will have PB working with Uruguayan biological product research and development company Lage y Cia and Hapy, a leader in the science of inoculates that boost soil nutrients and plant growth in marginal environments for…
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International engineering and construction services company KBR has been awarded a contract by chemical producer DuPont to help bring its first cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa to realisation. KBR will provide front-end engineering, along with engineering and procurement services to DuPont's Industrial Biosciences Group, with the value of the contract not disclosed at time of writing. The…
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A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by sustainable energy solution company Thermax and Ruchi Soya Industries to begin plans for a 1MW biomass gasification plant in Maharashtra, India. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Fund (GEF). It is…
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US-based producer of cellulosic ethanol Blue Sugars is set to provide three Brazilian sugar cane mills with its technology by 2015. It has been reported that at least five Brazilian ethanol producers have visited Blue Sugars’ demonstration plant in Wyoming throughout this year to evaluate the technology on offer. Blue Sugars, formerly known as KL Energy, has been working with Petrobras…
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A new £108 million ($167.9 million) biomass plant in Workington, UK that is halfway through its construction stage is now looking for energy crop suppliers. The plant is situated at the Swedish-owned Iggesund paperboard factory and is due to go live next year. Test harvesting on a farm near Carlisle has already taken place and 500,000 tonnes of willow will be needed a year to power the…
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UK business secretary Vince Cable will visit the University of York on 5 July to open the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC). The purpose of the BDC is to integrate modern genetics with ‘green’ chemistry and processing techniques to create renewable chemicals and materials. It will support the UK industry in developing manufacturing technologies that use plants, microbes and…
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The doors have opened on a new biodigester in Wiltshire, UK following 12 months of construction and trails. The anaerobic digester plant is operated by Malaby Biogas and, after trialling feedstocks for around four weeks, is now fully operational and located at Bore Hill Farm. ‘"We have now moved into the main building and the technology providers have completed all their pre-start testing…
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