News

The German biofuels association UFOP has dismissed claims in a new report carried out by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) into the predicted emissions to be created by indirect land use change policy. The UFOP says it opposes the adoption of ILUC factors specific for biofuels outlined in the report and says more investment protection needs to be given for existing…
Read More »

Biomass to ethanol producer TMO Renewables says it has raised £7.6 million (€9 million) in a financing round from new and current shareholders. This will be combined with the £4.6 million that was raised at the beginning of the year, and will be used to help the company come into commercialisation. The company is working with plant owners and land official from Minas Gerais, a…
Read More »

A new municipal solid waste (MSW) to energy centre will be built in Plymouth, processing up to 75,000 tonnes of MSW a year and exporting 3.2MW to the national grid. Wardell Armstrong, the engineering and environmental consultancy, has received permission for the £15 million (€18 million) development from Devon County Council and will work with AAD South West, an Aero Thermal company,…
Read More »

OriginOil, an algae technology developer, has joined forces with Australian company Future Energy Solutions (FES), and its subsidiary Alternate Energy Systems (AES), to carry out feasibility studies on the potential for biorefining centres around the world. The biorefineries would serve US and NATO military requirements for alternative fuels, including biofuels. OriginOil has also recently teamed…
Read More »

Shipping company Maersk and the US navy are working together to test biofuels derived from algae by fuelling a container ship with the alternative fuel for a journey from the north of Europe to India. The ship, called Maersk Kalmar, was chosen for the tests because it features an engine that has been specifically designed for auxiliary testing, meaning risk of damage on the voyage is reduced. The…
Read More »

BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners has bought a straw-fired renewable energy plant from Eco2 for its clean energy fund. It is the first biomass facility the fund has bought, although it also owns a wind power facility and solar photovoltaics and other assets in France, Italy, the UK and Ireland. The new plant is based in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK and will be able to produce 40MW, enough power to…
Read More »

The UK and India have made a £10 million (€11.8 million) deal to collaborate on sustainable bioenergy research. The programme will see scientific research carried out into plants and algae for bioenergy development. Funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Indian Government Department of Biotechnology has helped to put the build of the plant…
Read More »

Clayton Hall Farm in West Yorkshire, UK has invested in a £1.6 million (€1.9 million) anaerobic digestion plant which is anticipated to pay itself off within five years. The plant uses a digester which creates gas that activates a generator that supplies 400KW of electricity to the grid, heating farm buildings in the local area. The feedstock used will be food waste from local…
Read More »

Sargas, a Norwegian bioenergy company, says it is keen to invest in electrical energy in Malta as part of a deal with plant owners DSME and SNC-Lavalin to construct a plant. The feedstock used at the plant is called bio paste and is a wet mix of biomass and coal. However, natural gas will also power the plant but a carbon capture system will be installed. The company hopes to deliver the…
Read More »

The UK committee on climate change says it will be difficult to meet carbon budgets without the use of bioenergy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. In order to meet the country’s 2050 targets, bioenergy will need to make up a total of 10% of all energy produced, rather than the 2% it currently stands at. The review of UK energy says a 10% share of bioenergy could make it…
Read More »

Malaysia says it wants to export more biomass products to Europe under a new EU-funded deal. Currently RM300 million (€71.5 million) is exported to the region from Malaysia but the head of the EU delegation to Malaysia Vincent Piket says this estimate is only based on enquiries from Europe. Under the initiative, 45 SMEs have been chosen to work under the EU-Malaysia Biomass Entrepreneurs…
Read More »

Aurora Algae has released a new method of developing algae strains that can be designed to meet fuel needs without using ‘foreign genes’ and instead using the algae’s natural genetic makeup. Aurora says that in the past algae development has been limited to using existing strains of eukaryotic microalgae, because there was not enough technology available for genome…
Read More »

Algarythm, a South Australian company, has developed a new method in producing algal biomass in commercial quantities. Fishace Ecological Engineering has designed an open pond algae system coupled with photo-bioreactors to increase microalgae density and volume whilst decreasing operating costs. Nutrient-loaded waste waters have been introduced whilst managed fish culture provide vitamin streams.…
Read More »

FuturaGene, a woody crop plantation company for the bioenergy and biofuel markets, has opened a new biotech R&D centre in China. Although Futuragene has been working in China through partnerships with universities and research institutes over the last six years, this is the first such centre of its kind for the company in the country. Stanley Hirsch, CEO of FuturaGene, says: ‘China,…
Read More »