Articles in EU
by Aino Siirala (Advanced Biofuels USA) The 21st European Biomass conference and Exhibition was held in Copenhagen on June 3-7, 2013, gathering almost 2000 attendees.
Denmark, one of the world’s leading countries in the green energy …
(The Oil Palm) Spanish MEP and Draftsman for the influential Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE), Alejo Vidal-Quadras, has dismissed the European Commission’s proposal to introduce Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) factors as part of …
(European Commission/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The European Commission can confirm that on May 14, 2013, commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in and providing services to the crude oil, …
(ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, has asked the European Commission to investigate if EU customs legislation is properly applied in Finland. Evidence from several sources indicates that ethanol blended with gasoline …
(Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has set a general binding target for the European Union to derive 20% of its final energy and 10% of its transport fuels from renewable sources …
(EurActiv)
Leaders of the EU and their partners in the G8 nations are under mounting pressure to reconsider their support for biofuel targets amid concern that plant oil production competes with food output in poor countries.
Britain, …
(EurActiv) …This conflict is not one between green ambitions and trade rules – it is a conflict between trade rules and a biofuels policy aiming to favour domestically produced biofuels at the expense of foreign …
(Bio Base NWE) The project Bio Base NWE is funded under the Interreg IVB NWE framework and has the objective to support the development of the bio-based economy in North West Europe (see www.biobasenwe.org for …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Germany, the EU funded research project on bio-based product standards, (Knowledge Based Bio-based Products’ Pre-Standardization (KBBPPS), held a workshop in Cologne to inform stakeholders about the project’s objectives and …
(Asociación de Productores de Energías Renovables Biocarburantes – Spain; Associação Portuguesa de Produtores de Biocombustíveis – Portugal; Krajowa Izba Biopaliw – Poland; Renewable Energy Association – United Kingdom; Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie – Germany) We support the current target …
by by Francis X. Johnson (Public Service Europe) Policies should focus on long-term approaches to a sustainable biofuels market development, rather than short-term reactive approaches
Europe’s relationship with biofuels has been marked by dramatic turns. Biofuels for …
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …Member states, however, are faced with the reality of an economic crisis and cannot think of any good reason to kill investments and opportunities for more investments in agriculture.
Maybe …
(EurActiv.com)
A European Parliament report into the EU’s proposals for addressing the problem of indirect land use change (ILUC) in its biofuels policy will propose today (17 April) the application of unique ‘factors’ to account for …
(Argus Media) Biodiesel trade terms are becoming increasingly complicated as buyers and sellers haggle over sustainability clauses, payments terms and water content.
Much of the wrangling has appeared over Fame 0 biodiesel compliant with the EU …
(ePURE) The European Renewable Ethanol Industry, ePURE, together with Novozymes, find the double counting mechanism proposed by the European Commission is ineffective to kick-start the deployment of innovative advanced biofuels. Increasing the weighting of advanced …
by Sam Fenwick (E2B Pulse) In this article, E2B explores the benefits of crop-based biofuels to the UK, the potential impact of a recent EU proposal and the wider issues associated with their adoption.
In October …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Italy, Versalis and Genomatica announced the establishment of a technology joint venture for bio-based butadiene from non-food biomass. The resulting process will be licensed across Europe, Asia and Africa by …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Neste Oil, which had been criticized for its sourcing of deforestation-based palm oil, has pledged to shift away from palm oil sourced from primary forests, high conservation value and natural …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Despite the sluggish economic recovery and questions over policy stability — biofuels ventures have been busy raising lots of capital. In the past 6 months, $434 million. Who got what, …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The European Renewable Ethanol Association, ePURE, has released results of a study that determined the double counting mechanism proposed by the European Commission to spur production of advanced biofuels …
(Platts) Biofuels are not advanced enough yet to justify a specific binding 2030 EU renewable transport target, EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said Wednesday.
The EU has a binding 2020 target to source 20% of its …
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) There is enough land available to produce more food, more feed and more biofuels, which are not the cause of global malnutrition problems, according to the World Bioenergy Association.
WBA makes …
( SCS Global Services/PR NewsWire) SCS Global Services has announced the expansion of its biofuel certification services in Southeast Asia. The veteran third-party environmental certification body will now conduct audits under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On March 27 the European Commission published its first Renewable Energy Progress Report under the Renewable Energy Directive, showing that the EU as a whole is on its trajectory …
(European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport) In the current European energy policy framework, biogenic CO2 emissions from combustion of forest biomass used for energy and transport purposes are set to zero.
Biomass …
(GreenAirOnline) The aviation industry regards market-based measures (MBMs) as a temporary fix in achieving the carbon-neutral growth (CNG) goal from 2020 onwards until the benefits of new technology and operational advances, together with the uptake …
(EurActiv) Several European ministers are blocking the EU’s proposal to curb the use of conventional biofuels, while some dispute claims the demand for crop-based oils drives deforestation and food insecurity in other parts of the …
by David Glass (DGlassAssociates.com) In two blog entries in 2010, I described the possible regulatory regimes that might affect the use of genetically modified microorganisms or plants in the production of biofuels or bio-based chemicals, …
(UFOP/Biodiesel Magazine) The German Research Center for Biomass (DBFZ) was commissioned by the German oilseed promotional council (UFOP) to explain the proposals by the European Commission regarding the amendment of the Renewable Energies Directive and …
(Institute for European Environmental Policy) This report focuses on the potential sustainability of an advanced biofuel industry relying on mainly wastes and residues as the feedstock base. Presented as a series of ‘factsheets’ we consider …
by Olga Rosca (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) Next-generation biofuels produced from waste and agricultural residues can help save energy and improve the sustainability of companies operating in the agribusiness sector. The EBRD region offers …
(Home Grown Cereals Authority) An HGCA-led review of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions figures has reopened market opportunities in the biofuels supply chain potentially worth several million pounds each year.
Revised GHG figures, supplied by HGCA, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At World Biofuels Markets, BP CEO Phil New delivered a keynote speech which attempted to turn the industry’s attention towards “the hard yards” of operational excellence, saying that “it is arguable …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Neste Oil confirmed that they are using 65% virgin oils, primarily palm oil, and 35% waste residues, but that they are seeking to increase that percent of waste supplied, Neste’s …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the Netherlands, PANGEA (Partners for Euro African Green Energy) is launching today a booklet outlining Myths and Facts about Bioenergy in Africa. The brochure is intended to demystify the …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rob Vierhout, secretary general of ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, spoke to Ethanol Producer Magazine about the recent European Union decision to impose an $83.03 per metric ton tariff on …
(The Star/Reuters) A blending tax credit for alternative fuels has helped re-open the way for shipments of palm biodiesel to the United States, giving top producers Indonesia and Malaysia an outlet for palm oil stocks …
by Robin Whitlock (Renewable Energy Magazine) …The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has welcomed Energy Secretary Ed Davey’s stance on biofuels at the European Energy Council. Mr Davey said that the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue …
by Nina Chestney (Reuters) * U.S. cellulosic biofuel goals not reached
* Beta sees industry stepping up output by 2015
* New players could emerge from eastern Europe
Biofuels made from wood waste and sugarcane have languished well …
(American Chemical Society) Amid efforts to expand production of biofuels, scientists are reporting new estimates that downgrade the amount of additional land available for growing fuel crops by almost 80 percent. Their report appears …
(EurActiv.com) Biofuels made from food crops indirectly generate net emissions of greenhouse gases in the future, confirm the preliminary results of two studies on the history of the change in land use.
If the peer does …
(E-EnergyMarket.com) Energy ministers, meeting in Brussels on 22 February, have given a lukewarm reception to new rules proposed by the European Commission to limit the share of first-generation biofuels used in transport.
The Irish Presidency of …
by Ewa Krukowska (Bloomberg) The European Union should phase out support for land-based biofuels that displace food production and indirectly boost emissions, eight lobbies said in a letter to the bloc’s energy ministers.
The groups, including Transport …
by Stephan Nielsen (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Maple Energy Plc, the Peruvian company that made more than 99 percent of its revenue from selling petroleum products in 2011, expects to get more than half its business from …
(ActionAid) At a seminar on biofuels in Dublin yesterday, David Barissa, a leading expert on food security and land rights from ActionAid Kenya spoke of the litany of broken promises, rights violations and destruction which …
(World Wildlife Fund) Today WWF launched a new report – Putting the EU on Track for 100% Renewable Energy [1] – which shows where Europe needs to be by 2030 in order to reach a fully renewable …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Lignol Innovations Ltd. has landed a commercial supply agreement with a European producer of sustainable thermoplastics. The subsidiary of Lignol Energy Corp. has delivered samples of its trademarked …
by Marie-Martine Buckens (Europolitics) Interview with MEP Corinne Lepage (ALDE, France)
French MEP Corinne Lepage (ALDE) was named rapporteur, in late 2012, on the controversial issue of biofuels. She prefers to call them agrofuels, in reference to …
by Mona-Maria Brinker & Roger Coombs (Waste Management World) Rising prices, continued conflict in producing regions and the spectre of peak oil have highlighted uncertainties about the future of fossil transport fuels in Europe. Mona-Maria Brinker …
by Ben Messenger (Waste Management World) Advanced biofuels produced from waste feedstocks are a key component of EU climate and energy ambitions, and offer a huge opportunity to drive economic growth in Europe, according to the European Biofuels …
(Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels) Involvement of policy makers and other industries, R&D programmes, financing, communications programmes for a cost-competitive and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels
The Chief Executive Officers of seven Leading European biofuel producers and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In a fiery address at the National Ethanol Conference, RFA chief Bob Dinneen rallies his troops.
…He derided industry opponents as “the angry birds at the National Chicken Council, the mad …
(European Commission) The European Commission today announced an ambitious package of measures to ensure the build-up of alternative fuel stations across Europe with common standards for their design and use. Policy initiatives so far have …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Changes in EU policy and the financing of advanced biofuels have led to a revival of project formation in Europe.
The latest news from Finland is that St1 is proceeding towards …
by Nina Chestney (Reuters/Huffington Post) Growing palm oil trees to make biofuels could be accelerating the effects of climate change, new research showed on Wednesday, adding further weight to claims the crop is not environmentally sustainable.
In …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A recently released European Commission proposal on deploying alternative fuels infrastructure recognizes the importance of biofuels but does not go far enough, said ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association.
On …
(EnAlgae) Sustainable biofuels are at the heart of present and future EU renewable transport policies. Among them, extra incentivised biofuels – e.g. “double-counting” biofuels (whose contribution to EU targets shall be considered to be twice …
by Sean Bartlett (Platts) Europe needs a stable legal framework if biofuels research and development is to prosper, Neste Oil’s Executive Vice President, Oil Products, Matti Lehmus, said at a conference Monday.
A proposal in October by …
by Amanda Peterka (Environment and Energy Daily/Greenwire) …It takes a lot of petroleum to get an airplane going, and electrifying the fleet is not an option.
So airlines are scrambling for cleaner, greener and cheaper fuels. “We …
by Barbara Lewis (Reuters) EU officials are to debate a new set of tax proposals to promote clean fuel and erode fiscal advantages that have made diesel relatively cheap, a document seen by Reuters showed.
…Ahead of a …
by Daniel C Marotta and Jennifer Coute-Marotta (Truthout) All names are fictitious as sources requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Anonymity and people’s requests that no pictures be taken were prerequisites for attaining interviews. …
(Balkans.com) … It seems unlikely but motorsport engineers and specialists from around the world have been discussing just that at the 2013 Race Tech World Motorsport Symposium.
McLaren and Caterham Formula One racing teams, plus Audi Sport …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Now – it’s all about organizing sustainable, affordable feedstock and building capacity. And, airlines providing capital for the first commercial projects — to ensure that capacity building reaches levels in …
by Alister Doyle (Reuters) Green schemes to fight climate change by producing more bio-fuels could actually worsen a little-known type of air pollution and cause almost 1,400 premature deaths a year in Europe by 2020, a …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) In the project BioGrace (I) running from 2010 to 2012 a greenhouse gas (GHG) calculation tool was developed for liquid biofuels. The project BioGrace-II now aims to harmonise GHG calculations for electricity, heating …
The Fifth Stakeholder Plenary Meeting of EBTP (SPM5) is a conference for all European biofuels stakeholders to be held at the Diamant Conference Centre in Brussels. The conference will run from 12:30-20:00 on 6th February 2013 and 9:00-13:30 on …
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Hopefully, European regulators will take note of what has happened. If they are intellectually honest, they should acknowledge that if the U.S. biofuel policy has no real …
(Platts) The European Commission does not plan to “cap the production and consumption” of first-generation biofuels as it moves to overhaul its biofuels policies, but it will “cap the incentives” for their production, Hans van …
by Matthew Aylott (National Non-Food Crops Centre) NNFCC take a look back at the bioenergy, biofuels and bio-based products stories making the headlines in 2012.
… In Europe, both Vivergo and Ensus started producing bioethanol made from wheat this year …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As renewable fuel developers put steel in the ground, oil & gas points to a fossil-based transformation in transportation fuels just “five years away”.
Today, it is the oil & gas …
by Jim Lane (Biobased Digest) Counting the EU out in biobased development? Not so quick, pilgrim — BioMCN, Siemens, Linde and Visser & Smit Hanab land a whale, grant-wise.
In the Netherlands, a consortium consisting of …
(Neste Oil/Biodiesel Magazine) Neste Oil has joined the Initiative Towards Sustainable Kerosene for Aviation (ITAKA) project, which is being funded by the EU to support the commercialization and use of renewable aviation fuel in Europe. …
(AgiTrade) In a letter to the European Commission in early October 2012, Copa-Cogeca, the EU farmers’ and agricultural cooperatives’ organisation, affirmed its opposition to EC proposals to limit to 5% ‘the use of crop-based biofuels’ in …
(PRNewswire/Reportlinker.com) Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue.
The report titled “Global Biofuel Market Outlook to 2016 – Going Mainstream Through Government Support” provides a comprehensive analysis of market size …
by Whitney McFerron (Bloomberg) Most rapeseed, sugar beet and wheat crops in the U.K. meet environmental standards for use in biofuels, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board said.
Ninety-seven percent of the country’s rapeseed, all …
by Karl Ritter (Associated Press/Salt Lake Tribune) Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump.
…Qatar — the host …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) With a grant from the European Union, researchers at Royal Holloway, School of Biological Sciences, will test this theory based on initial findings that the Nicotiana Glauca produces compounds that could be …
(International Institute for Sustainable Development) “Rational policies should be based on understanding the real impacts of government support to biofuels on the environment and the society,” said Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP and chair of GLOBE EU. …
by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) While the bio-based economy should be more sustainable than the alternative – any good idea can be implemented poorly. I asked Jesper Hedal Kløverpris, Sustainability Manager for Novozymes, how we can ensure that …
(FarmingUK.com) Biodiesel and bioethanol markets are crucial to meeting future energy needs according to the NFU.
The news follows a series of meetings between biofuel professionals, producers and the Secretary of State for Transport Norman Baker …
(CBC News) A CBC News investigation has uncovered a cross-border mystery involving unexplained shipments of biodiesel tanker cars that were sent back and forth numerous times between Canada and the U.S. by CN Rail but …
(Hveiti) European policymakers should focus on how to organize the synergies between food and fuel rather than wasting time on theoretical models of land use changes that do nothing to improve matters in the real …
by Barbara Lewis (Reuters) The European Commission has approved a scheme that would certify as sustainable transport fuel made from palm oil, condemned by environmental groups as one of the most damaging sources of biodiesel.
The …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Brazil, India, the US, China and the EU point the way towards a 60 billion gallon biofuels market by 2022 – but can the capacity be built, and can the …
(Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe) The European Commission last Friday approved a certification scheme which would brand biofuels produced from palm oil as ‘sustainable’ [1], despite evidence that their production contributes to deforestation, …
(GreenAirOnline) EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard announced this morning the EU will suspend enforcement of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to airlines flying to and from Europe in order to allow ICAO to …
(GreenAirOnline) As ICAO expert groups continue their work on a global market-based approach to limiting the growth of international aviation emissions, it is beginning to emerge that carbon offsetting, rather than emissions trading, is the …
by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE) After almost three years of study, debate, hours of meetings, many reports, public and nonpublic consultations, the European Commission has released its legislative proposal on how to address the indirect …
(PR NewsWire) Accounting for dynamics in the global agricultural area reduces the current estimated contributions to global warming from ILUC by 60-70%
Indirect land use models that forecast the global warming impact of biofuels production incorporate …
(NewEnergyWorldNetwork.com) By the end of 2015, all palm oil used in the UK government’s food and catering services will be from environmentally-friendly sources, the country’s Environment Minister has announced.
…The Renewable Energy Association (REA) commented on …
by Olivier De Schutter (The Guardian) …The new starting point should be to put food security first. Globally, 25% of land is already degraded, and the remaining productive areas are subject to ever-greater competition from industrial …
(GreenAirOnline) With emissions from aviation and shipping likely to make up a quarter of the total UK output by 2050, it would be impossible to achieve national climate objectives without including the two sectors in …
The 21st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition will take place at Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark from 3 to 7 June 2013.
For over 30 years now, the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EU BC&E) has …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … United States Concerns over the price impacts of a devastating US drought have led to call for a waiver in the US Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric targets. Proposed waivers have …
by Will Nichols (Business Green) The EU’s new biofuels policy falls short of what is needed to spur growth in advanced fuels and is mistakenly writing off fuels derived from food crops, one of the world’ largest …
by David Thorpe (Link2Portal.com) A policy U-turn by the European Commission, on the indirect effects on land use and greenhouse gas emissions caused by biofuels, has managed to upset almost all parties.
Changes being published today to …
by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) RETECH 2012, an international conference on the business, policy, and technology of renewable energy, took place this year in DC at the regal Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, …
by Gerard Wynn (Reuters) The European Commission has proposed phasing out support for food-based biofuels in a move that not only undermines the industry but provides a possible roadmap for addressing the wider implications of producing crude oil from …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Deployment of next-gen bagasse-to-biofuels technologies could expand ethanol production in Brazil, India by 35 percent without land, water intensification.
…Guidance being given by the projects is that capacities could increase by …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As drought, recession, and capital starvation form a perfect storm, will advanced biofuels be thrown under the bus? Industry leaders say that dropping biofuels production targets will not reverse impacts …
