by Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Looking for a middle ground where environmentalists and ethanol advocates could meet, the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a paper by Julia Olmstead reflecting on the lessons learned …

(Sermatec Zanini and GeoSynFuels, LLC)  Sermatec Zanini and GeoSynFuels, LLC (GSF) have announced the formation of a strategic alliance for the development and commercialization of GSF’s proprietary cellulosic ethanol technology. The strategic alliance allows Sermatec Zanini …

by Silva, J. P. A., Mussatto, Solange I., Roberto, I.C., Teixeira, J. A.   (Universidade do Minho/Repositorium)  The ethanol production by Pichia stipitis was evaluated in a stirred tank bioreactor using semidefined medium containing xylose (90.0 g/l) as the …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe)  As a potential substitute for fossil fuels, wood energy can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. FAO’s programme on wood energy promotes sustainable wood energy systems as a contribution to sustainable forest management, livelihoods …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe)  Brazil has over 4 million hectares of eucalypt plantations. Within that estate some plantations are dedicated to the production of charcoal while in some areas multiple land use includes forestry and agricultural production. …

by Esteban Israel and Peter Murphy (Reuters Africa)  Brazilian builder Odebrecht plans to produce sugar in Cuba, the company said on Monday, as looser restrictions on foreign investment in the communist island raise hopes of a recovery in the once-booming …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Bloomberg New Energy Finance launched its report “Moving towards a next-generation ethanol economy”. Commissioned by Novozymes, the report estimates the socioeconomic prospects of deploying advanced biofuels in eight of the highest agricultural-producing …

by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg)  Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria, Brazil’s state-owned agricultural research agency, plans to charge less than major seed companies including Monsanto Co. (MON), Bayer AG (BAYN) and Syngenta AG (SYNN) when it begins selling sugar cane that’s genetically …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   In the UK, Green Biologics Limited  announced the merger between GBL and butylfuel Inc., a US-based renewable chemicals and biofuels company. The new company will operate under the Green Biologics …

by Loreto Urbino  (AMÉRICAECONOMÍA/Worldcrunch)  A London-based project dubbed OPEC (Orange Peel Exploitation Company) aims to make biofuel from the waste from the more than 10 million tons of oranges that Brazil squeezes into juice each …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In California, SG Biofuels has completed a $17 million Series B financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners with participation from Finistere Ventures and current investors Flint Hills Resources and …

(Abengoa)  Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and FINEP, the promotion and investment agency …

(TBPetroleum.com/Petrobras)  Began operating today (10), with fuel supplied by Petrobras, the Construction: ethanol that will illuminate the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. With this initiative, Brazil will be the first country to use biofuel for energy …

by Damian Carrington (Government Online)  For the first time in a decade, the vast biofuel industry has stalled. But with crude prices still high, charting a course towards biofuels that do more good than harm is …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …But the New Agriculture has arisen in recent years, with new solutions to the old dilemma: how do you produce, and afford, and haul, and utilize enough feedstock to make …

(MarketWire/Evogene)  Wholly Owned Subsidiary Expanding Castor Bean Activity in Brazil
Evogene Ltd.  announced that it is establishing Evofuel, a wholly owned subsidiary, to focus on developing seed for advanced second-generation feedstock for biofuel.
Included in the activities …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …Brazil began developing its domestic ethanol industry in the 1970s in response to the worldwide oil crisis that hit countries with little to no oil production, including Brazil, extremely …

by Derek Mead (GreenTechMedia)  Biofuel up-and-comers Codexis and Mascoma both have big news that means cellulosic ethanol production is right around the corner.
…With traditional sugar feedstocks — and in the U.S., that means corn — …

C-C. Tsao, J. E. Campbell, M. Mena-Carrasco, S. N. Spak, G. R. Carmichael & Y. Chen  (Nature Climate Change)  Accelerating biofuel production has been promoted as an opportunity to enhance energy security, offset greenhouse-gas emissions and support rural economies. However, large …

(Macau Hub)  French group Tereos Internacional and Brazilian energy company Petrobras Wednesday in Maputo signed a protocol of intentions with Mozambican state oil and gas company Petróleos de Moçambique (Petromoc) to study the feasibility of …

by Charles Abbott and Reese Ewing  (Drovers Cattle Network)  A U.S. ethanol tax credit costing roughly $6 billion a year will expire on Dec. 31, with the U.S. industry declaring itself ready to stand on …

by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …Between 2006 and 2011, the price of sugar, while having numerous peaks and valleys, has risen from about 18 cents per pound to as high as 29 cents per …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  There’s a hot new craze called the “Ethanol Shuffle” that’s sweeping seaports from Sao Paulo to Los Angeles. No, it’s not a new dance, this shuffle is all about …

by Ola Gala (Bloomberg)  World production of biofuels will increase at a slower pace than previously forecast in the next five years as Brazil’s ethanol output declines and the U.S. market becomes saturated, the International Energy Agency …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Your calls and emails are always the highlight of our days. Most questions can be answered johnny-on-the-spot. Some are still out there and well worth arguing over. Here are the …

(MarketWatch)  Expanded Agreement Follows Successful Completion of Field Trials
Evogene Ltd. and SLC Agricola, a leading agribusiness company in Brazil, today announced expansion of their agreement for the development of castor bean seeds as a cost …

(MarketWatch)  Mario Garnero, Chairman of Brasilinvest, Brazil’s pioneer merchant bank, stated that BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) can no longer be simply described as ‘Emerging Markets’. Their economic, political and energy status make …

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine)  The biorefining sector reached an important new milestone this year with at least five companies undergoing successful initial public offerings (IPOs). As we move into the new year, members of …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  Brazilian and U.S. ethanol interests are challenging each other over ethanol trade policy.
The U.S./Brazil Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote a joint letter to Congress last week asking that the …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Monsanto providing seed for off-season ethanol feedstock
Every year, Brazilian sugarcane mills clear and replant about 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of cane. This year, some mills are planting …

(Congressman Charles Rangel (D- NY 15)  Congressman Charles Rangel on December 2, 2011, introduced legislation to extend “other duty or charge” (ODC), a key component of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), that provides …

(Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association/PR NewsWire)  In response to the introduction of H.R. 3552, legislation sponsored by four members of the U.S. House of Representatives to extend the import tax on foreign ethanol, the Brazilian Sugarcane …

by Achten, W. M. J., and L. V. Verchot (Ecology and Society)  Biofuels are receiving growing negative attention. Direct and/or indirect land-use changes that result from their cultivation can cause emissions due to carbon losses in …

by James Burgess  (OilPrice.com)  Latin America is one of the world’s largest continents, with abundant, untapped energy resources. It also boasts several countries with rapidly growing economies such as Brazil and Mexico. In fact Brazil’s …

(Butamax)  Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, the leading global biobutanol technology development company, announces agreement on commercialization principles with Highwater Ethanol, the first entrant to the Butamax Early Adopters Group.
Butamax’s business model is to offer current ethanol …

by Kari Williamson  (Renewable Energy Focus)  FuturaGene has received a US$2.1 million grant from the Brazilian Government to advance its bioenergy technology development programme in Brazil.
The grant obtained by FuturaGene’s parent company, Suzano Papel e …

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register)  Ethanol producers will lose about 25 to 30 cents per gallon on operating profits when the tax credit for blenders goes away after Dec. 31.
…(Walt) Wendland, who also is president …

by Naseem Sheikh (Business Recorder)  …A research Study conducted by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, suggests that the country’s energy demand is expected to increase three fold by 2050, but supply position is not inspiring …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)    …Then, there’s bagasse. That leftover residue at the sugar mill after squeezing out all the cane juice.
Exciting enough that Cobalt recently signed an agreement with the 10th largest global …

(Reuters)  A European Union target to promote the use of biofuels will accelerate global species loss because it encourages the conversion of pasture, savanna and forests into new cropland, EU scientists have warned.
…The scale of …

by Stephan Nielsen  (Bloomberg)  Brazilian sugar cane companies, which are preparing to boost ethanol exports to the U.S., don’t produce enough of the renewable fuel to do so, a lawmaker said.
Brazil won’t make enough ethanol …

by Derek Mead (GreenTechMedia)  Three newly public biofuel and green chemical firms reveal their financials.
A trio of young biofuel firms recently reported their third-quarter 2011 earnings, offering a good glimpse into what’s up and coming …

by Anna Jagger (ICIS Chemical Business) The sugar and ethanol industry is sustainable and competitive against fossil fuels. It is attracting interest from chemical producers looking for renewable feedstocks
Brazil’s sugarcane ethanol industry is attracting the …

(Amyris)  Amyris, Inc. , a leading renewable chemicals and fuels company, announced that it has received final approval from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for a R$ 22 million project financing facility for Amyris Brasil …

by Les Coleman, Deb Courson Smith (Public News Service – SD)   …Flo-Sun, through subsidiaries such as Florida Crystals and Domino Foods, has milling and refining operations around the world. The rulers of Flo-Sun are …

by Reese Ewing (Reuters)  Brazilian joint venture BENRI plans to rate sugar and ethanol mills on efficiency, a new service for the sector that is expected to improve performance of mills and the terms of credit …

by Stephan Nielsen  (Bloomberg Businessweek)  Sugar-cane processors in Brazil, including Bunge Ltd. and Louis Dreyfus SAS, are preparing to increase their ethanol exports to the U.S., where oil companies must expand their use of biofuels.
Ethanol …

(PR NewsWire) Boeing , Embraer and the Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) today announced plans to collaborate on long-term aviation biofuels-related research and development, a move that represents another major step toward the creation of …

(Cobalt)  Cobalt Technologies, a leading developer of next generation bio-based chemicals and Rhodia, a specialty chemical company, today announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding setting the basis for a strategic alliance to develop …

(Amyris)  Two Million Ton Sugarcane Crush Capacity to be added in Brazil for High-Performance Renewable Chemicals and Fuels
Amyris, Inc. and ETH Bioenergia, a leading producer of ethanol, electric energy and sugar controlled by Odebrecht S.A., …