Other News

Canopus Star's Romanian grain terminal at the Constanta Port will be able to store 50,000 tonnes following a newly announced expansion. The expansion will cost €15 million, an investment made by US agribusiness company Cargill and Transport Trade Services (TTS). This also includes growing the facility's warehouse capacity to 110,000 tonnes. The project will be finalised by 2014.
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Germany-based CropEnergies has acquired UK bioethanol producer Ensus from funds affiliated to The Carlyle Group in an all stock deal worth €13.5 million. Following the completion of the transaction, Carlyle is expected to gain 2.6% stake in CropEnergies. The company is set to invest nearly €58 million to enhance the competitiveness of the UK producer and increase its own production…
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A biogas project in Lebanon operated by environmental solutions provider Averda International has attached a technology provider to get it moving forward. An on-site power facility at a landfill site in Naameh will transform waste into energy via a GE Jenbacher J312 landfill gas engine. It has the potential to generate 637kW of renewable electricity and go towards eliminating the equivalent of…
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Israel-based waste to energy company Blue Sphere has secured financing for a project to be located in the US. The business has received commitment from Caterpillar Financial Services in Tennessee to provide almost $18 million (€13.7 million) in debt financing. The project, in collaboration with Germany-based Biogas Nord, will see a 5.2MW anaerobic digester located in North Carolina which…
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Two US-based companies have signed a long-term agreement for the supply of purpose grown energy crops and residues to be used as cellulosic feedstock. Chemtex International and Murphy Brown (MB), both located in North Carolina, will ensure the feedstock goes towards use in Chemtex’s cellulosic ethanol facility planned for construction in Clinton. The agreement covers a number of feedstocks…
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Algae-based oil production company Sapphire Energy (SE) is to commercialise a new industrial scale conversion technology needed to upgrade algae biomass into crude oil with partner Linde Group. The pair will refine the hydrothermal treatment process developed and operated by SE at pilot-scale. In addition, they will jointly license and market the technology into industries including algae,…
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Biomass producer and wood waste recycling business Chip Energy officially broke ground on its new biomass recycling and palletising plant in Illinois, US. A portion of the new plant is already built and, upon full completion, the site will be home to 26 40ft tall silos and a 2,300m3 bulk storage area. It will be able to handle feedstocks like corn stover, switchgrass, cherry pits, wood chips and…
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A university in Pakistan is to delve into the world of biogas research by setting up a dedicated centre on campus. The Biogas Resource Centre will sit within the Ravi Campus Pattoki of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore, and aim to train and facilitate those working in the field of renewable energy. University vice-chancellor Talat Naseer Pasha, in an address regarding the…
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Local news reports claim a renewable energy project may be located at a naval base in Portsmouth, UK. A heat and power facility to cater for two new aircraft carriers and visiting ships is on the table and a biomass-based solution appears to be favoured by the local council, with council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson confirming Helius Energy as being in talks with the Ministry of Defence…
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Forty-eight companies have joined forces with the European Commission this July to set up a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for bio-based industries. The PPP brings together €3.8 billion ($4.9 million) with an aim to advance the bioeconomy in Europe. The European pulp and paper industry is one strategic partner in this PPP, with 13 of the 48 member companies from the sector as well as the…
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A new renewable energy technology which aims to help eradicate the problem of open field burning in India has been unveiled. The technology, a Pyroformer container, has been developed by scientists at the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) at Aston University, UK as part of a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar. It is believed farmers throughout India burn…
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Planning permission for an 80,000 tonne clean energy recovery from waste facility in Lisburn, Northern Ireland has been granted by environment minister Alex Attwood. The advanced conversion facility from Energos at the former Burn House rendering facility will use non-recyclable, non-hazardous mixed waste to generate 7MW of electricity, enough to power 17,000 homes. It could also provide…
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A wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based BioPower Operations, simply named BioPower, has agreed to develop a castor plantation and milling operation in Paraguay. Under the terms of the agreement Ambrosia, a development company, will provide the land, pay costs for the testing and give BioPower a monthly $45,000 (€35,100) project management fee and reimbursement of expenses during the test…
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Algae-based energy is the order of the day for Thailand-based petroleum company PTT and it is working in Australia to achieve that end. PTT is already in early partnership with Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, with the end-goal of developing algae-oil extraction. The venture is currently focusing on fatty acid methyl ether from selected marine algae. ‘Oil extracted from…
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