In a recent report by Credit Suisse , it was stated that nearly 5 million hectares of palm trees are already planted in Malaysia, only between 200,000 and 300,000 are likely to be available in …

by Yuca Waarts, Kor Zwart (LEI Wageningen UR)  Recycling palm oil mill effluent, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and improving smallholder livelihoods are three important topics in debates on sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, Zebra Special Products …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Heliae emerges from stealth with Volaris — its next-gen algae platform — “This technology will unlock the industry,” the company says.
…Volaris is the result of five years of targeted innovation, …

( 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) …

(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, …

PALM OIL PALEMBANG 2013 (in-conjunction with PALEMBANG INDUSTRIAL EXPO 2013)
27 – 29 JUNE 2013
ARYADUTA HOTEL PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA
www.palembangexpo.com
Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, also the island’s largest city, is a deepwater port on …

(This Is Gloucestershire) Green Fuels of Stonehouse has installed the first ever biodiesel plant on Bali.  The move is helping the Indonesian island to avert a growing environmental and health crisis.
The FuelMatic GSX 3 plant …

(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 Hatman Bintang  (Indonesia Today)  State-owned petroleum company, PT Pertamina, signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Toyota Motor Corporation for research and development of biofuel, CNG, and Euro 4-standard fuel for land transportation.
The agreement will run …

(Mongabay.com)  Degradation of peat swamps for oil palm and timber plantations is a substantially larger source of greenhouse gas emissions than previously believed, finds a new study published in the journalNature.
An international team of researchers …

by Tassia Sipahutar (The Jakarta Post)   State-owned sugar and tobacco plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) X is expanding into biofuel production and electricity this year in an effort to offset increasing sugar manufacturing costs.
The firm …

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 …

(Green Fuels/Biodiesel Magazine)  The biorefinery manufacturer Green Fuels is in Bali this week commissioning a turnkey biodiesel facility for Caritas Switzerland, an NGO that focuses on socioeconomic development in disadvantaged communities around the world. Green Fuels …

The 5th PALMEX Indonesia 2013 is the only specialized Palm Oil event in Asia that brings together an international congregation of both upstream and downstream palm oil companies and also its supporting industries gathered in …

by Emily Bruns (Ashton Gasette)  In an effort to evolve with the constant changes and challenges within a $50 billion industry, Rochelle’s Illinois River Energy ethanol plant began producing and industrial corn oil on Nov. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  There’s only one complete region for biofuels where abundant feedstock, lack of oil & gas production, rising energy demand and supportive government policy come together — and that is Asia.
We’re …

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 Craig Hanson (WRI Insights)  At the 10th Annual Meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), WRI launched two new online mapping applications designed to help the palm oil industry grow while avoiding deforestation. These free tools …

by Nigel Sizer (WRI Insights/The Jakarta Post)  …The world’s top scientists are also raising concerns. According to a recent study in Nature Climate Change, from 1990 to 2010, 90 percent of lands converted to oil palm plantations in …

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 Jason Motlagh (The Washington Post/Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting)  Long a preferred cooking ingredient in developing countries, palm oil is now in greater demand in Western markets because of its low price and long …

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 …

by John Vidal (The Guardian)  Israeli biotech firm says its modified eucalyptus trees can displace the fossil fuel industry
It’s a timber company’s dream but a horrific industrial vision for others: massive plantations of densely planted GM eucalyptus …

(The Guardian)  Tighter EU rules on biofuel production are failing to protect the land rights of Indonesia’s indigenous communities
…To understand the scale of the problem, Sawit Watch (sawit means palm oil in Indonesian) is supporting smallholders and indigenous …

by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine)  Heliae is the 9th startup for CEO Dan Simon, and the company is finally at his favorite stage. “We are completing our charge through the Valley of Death,” he …

by Heru Andriyanto  (Jakarta Globe)   Indonesia might be a potential market for ethanol-fueled cars, following in the footsteps of other sugarcane-producing nations like Brazil that promote the alternative source to fossil fuel, a General Motors executive …

(Frost & Sullivan/Sacramento Bee)  Removing subsidies for conventional fuels and providing incentives for biofuels will bolster market growth
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.chemicals.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of Southeast Asian Automotive Biofuels Market, finds that the market …

(Equities.com)  Smallholders at Cargill’s palm oil plantation, PT Hindoli in South Sumatra, Indonesia, recently became the one of the first smallholders to receive official certification for sustainable palm oil supply for biofuels, according to the …

(Bankok Post)  Thailand is being urged to step up joint development and know-how exchanges with Malaysia and Indonesia on ethanol and biodiesel to stave off reliance on oil imports, according to energy veterans.
“We should get …

by Novan Iman Santosa  (The Jakarta Post)  Palm oil producer Musim Mas Group expects that there will be more demand for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO), as the company is ready to provide the market …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …(M)ore than 30 airlines now trialing, deploying biofuels – but who’s doing what, exactly?
In Brazil, Azul Airlines announced that Amyris’s innovative renewable jet fuel sourced from Brazilian sugarcane has passed all required testing …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Arizona, Heliae announced a capital raise of  $15 million in funding from international conglomerate Salim Group’s agribusiness company, PT. PP London Sumatra Indonesia, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Agri Investments.
This …

by Martin Roberts (Reuters)  …European biodiesel makers will be able to sell an additional one million tonnes a year in Spain after new measures which effectively shut out Argentine and Indonesian imports, an industry spokesman …

(Bernama)  Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s largest producers of palm oil, are on a joint mission to correct and update a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that could impact future exports of palm …

(FreshFruitPortal.com)  Indonesia and Malaysia have questioned a U.S. decision  that their palm oil fails to meet regulatory greenhouse gas reduction standards, website Antaranews.com reported.
They disagreed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ruling that biofuels from Indonesia …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  In Indonesia, Mission New Energy is developing a new downstream palm oil and oleo-chemical complex, in partnership with PTPN III. The complex will be located located at PTPNIII’s Sei …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) Palms are said to be a symbol of peace and prosperity, but you can’t prove it by the past few weeks of heated debate over palm biofuel. Last week, we …

The 4th PALMEX Indonesia 2012 is the only specialized Palm Oil event in Asia that brings together an international congregation of both upstream and downstream palm oil companies and also its supporting industries gathered in …

Rapid Investments In Palm Oil Cultivation In Kalimantan
East Kalimantan province invited investors from all across the country to participate in the opening up of five million
hectares of land for oil palm cultivation over the next …

“Sustainable Yield Enhancement & Carbon Management”
Key highlights

Demand for Certified Sustainable Palm Oil & its future for European & US markets
Replanting trees with higher yielding varieties
Improved agriculture practices and mechanisation
Value addition in downstream processing including improved oil extraction rates
Capture …

(US Environmental Protection Agency)  he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) to release its lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis of palm oil used as a feedstock to produce biodiesel and …

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)  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 …

Travel to Japan or Indonesia
Travel Dates:
Japan Fellowship
February 13, 2012 – March 2, 2012
Indonesia Fellowship
February 20, 2012 – March 9, 2012
Fellows are selected based on outstanding performance and the ability to play leadership roles in their …

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 Niluksi Koswanage (Reuters)  Indonesian palm-based biodiesel shipments seeking a foothold in the United States will face stiff competition from feedstocks such as corn oil and waste oils, which will become cheaper as more supplies …

(Transport & Environment)  Biofuels produced from palm oil grown in tropical peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gases. This is the finding of a new study done for the International Council on Clean Transportation …

by Maya Thatcher (Center for International Forestry Research)  Smallholder farmers in developing countries risk being left behind in the push to produce sustainable biofuels, deterred by complex and expensive certification schemes, according to a recent …

(Soya Tech)  Indonesia’s Confederation of Primary Cooperatives Association (Inkud) is teaming up with Taiwan in developing jatropha curcas-based fuel, its vice president director Yusri Suhud said.
“We are cooperating with Taiwan to develop jatropha curcas as …

by John C.K. Daly (http://oilprice.com)   Greening the European Union has suffered a setback.
The European Biodiesel Board is reporting that the European Union biodiesel industry production forecasts are noting a 2011 decrease in output, the first …

by Guariguata, M.R.; Masera, O.R.; Johnson, F.X.; von Maltitz, G.; Bird, N.; Tella, P.; Martínez-Bravo, R  (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Bogor, Indonesia)  With the rapid growth of biofuel production and consumption and the …

by David Schwartz (Algae Industry Magazine)  When Syed Alwi speaks about the algae industry, you get the feeling that he really has his finger on what’s going on globally. He gets around, and is a …

(Agrimoney.com)  D1 Oils put its hands up to out-of-pocket investors in jatropha, admitting that the once-lauded oilseed had been a “disappointment”, as the group unveiled – yet another – strategy shift.
Steven Rudofsky, the D1 Oils chairman, acknowledged …

(Jakarta Post)   PT INKUD Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday with Malaysian biotechnology firm Lestari Pasifik Berhad to establish a joint venture aiming to set up 616 bio-refinery factories to process …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  Australia-based Jatenergy Ltd. recently announced that it has sold 200 metric tons crude jatropha oil at $1,000 per metric ton to Lufthansa, a Germany-based airline, for use in its long-term …

by Karin Holzzknecht  (Center for International Forestry Research Forest Blog)  Assessing how biofuels affect forests and people’s livelihoods and how its production can be more sustainable has been made easier following the recent release of …

by Ismira Lutfia   (Jakarta Globe)  The millions of tons of fibrous residue produced by palm oil plantations across the country could soon become a major source of raw material for renewable fuel.
Over the past …

by Niluksi Koswanage   (Reuters Africa)  Malaysia, the word’s No.2 palm oil producer, will come up with a certification scheme to ensure the tropical oil is grown without clearing forests and destroying wildlife, a newspaper reported …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Over at Blue Marble, think spent waste grains from the alcoholic beverage distillation process, and spent coffee grounds. Generally, these are materials that pile up in landfills.
By contrast, at Blue …

by Christopher Mims   (Grist)  Production of biofuel from palm oil has been an unmitigated disaster for the rainforest, leading to clear-cutting throughout Indonesia and propelling that country to the top ranks of the world’s …

(CheckBioTEch)  A CHINESE green energy specialist is joining Aim in a move valuing the business at £21million.
…It is looking to invest in undervalued biofuel operators and is also keen to take stakes in new green …

(Jagran Post)  The project of deriving ethanol, a bio-fuel for blending with petrol, from a seaweed is all set to get a major boost, with the Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) deciding …

(The Guardian/Eco-Business)  Malaysia and Indonesia, which together account for about 90% of the world’s palm oil production, have launched a joint PR offensive to defend the industry’s environmental record.
…(M)inisters from the two countries agreed to finalise plans for …

(ABC Rural)   The European Union wants more of its transport fuel to be made from renewable biomass like canola oil.
…EU member states can’t supply enough canola or soy oil to meet the demand, so …

The 3nd PALMEX Indonesia 2011 (Palm Oil Asia 2011) is the only specialized Palm Oil event in Asia that brings together an international congregation of both upstream and downstream palm oil companies and also its …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  An interview with James Garton, president of Mission Biofuels USA subsidiary. We look at the jatropha 1.0 catastrophe, actual biodiesel capacity in the US, palm biodiesel, the RFS, and more.
…The …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  This was one of the best weeks yet in the Asian biofuels industry. China decided to promote 2G biofuels production and reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 45 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …NGOs in Africa have been touting for some time the use of ethanol cook stoves, to replace three-stone, wood based stoves that can trigger local deforestation and expose women and …

by Sybille de La Hamaide (Reuters)  Overcapacity, squeezed margins and massive imports should continue to hurt Europe’s biodiesel industry this year and lead to further consolidation, the chief executive of EU giant Diester Industrie said …

(Neste Oil)   Neste Oil with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr. Teo Chee Hean, Finnish Minister for Ownership Steering Mr. Jyri Häkämies, and some 200 guests celebrate the grand opening of …

by Jamie Ashcroft   (Proactive Investors United Kingdom)  D1 Oils revealed that demand is out-pacing supply for its Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO)…  D1 said that it is continuing to experience demand for greater quantities of …

(Biofuels International)  On 3 February 2011 energy company Jatoil achieved production of 200 tonnes of crude jatropha oil, all of which will be shipped and used as feedstock for biojet aviation fuel for use by …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  …“If weather blesses the world with bountiful crops in 2011,” writes Economic Times commodities editor Nidhi Nath Srinivas, “and that’s a giant if, they will first replenish exhausted stocks …

(Commodity Online)  The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ended the year 2010 with strong growth in both the production and use of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil.
Compared to 2009, numbers doubled, in many cases even …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  …#1 It’s a breakthrough year for Asian biofuels science and technology. Many scientific and technological developments that simmered away in Asian labs and pilot plants in 2010 are set …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Honolulu, much of the leadership of the advanced biofuels and renewables chemicals industries have gathered this week at BIO’s Pacific Rim Summit.  …(W)hat are the key trends? Here are …

by Niki Koswanage   (Reuters)  Palm oil has production audit in place unlike other vegoils; Green palm oil production capacity growing.
European Union rules requiring vegetable-oil based biofuels to come from eco-friendly sources may boost palm oil …

(World Wildlife Fund)  A new methodology that could deter the “indirect” conversion of virgin or tropical forests for biofuel production was published today by prominent consultancy Ecofys, WWF and Conservation International.
The Responsible Cultivation Area [RCA] …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   …We see the battle over rural development flashing at other points around the globe, but nowhere so starkly do we have a choice between the War on Poverty and the War …

Palm oil is proven as the most efficient crop and the world’s most traded agricultural commodity with its uses ranging from food, industrial, personal care products to energy. It now contributes over US$ 10 billion …

by Fidelis E. Satriastanti  (Jakarta Globe) National airline Garuda Indonesia is finalizing preparations to use biofuel in an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a senior official said on Monday.
“We are in the process of changing …

(TheBioenergySite.com)  Waterland supply its Jatropha Oil for use as feedstock for aviation fuel.
Waterland International signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with a leading supplier of biofuels for the aviation industry.
Waterland will be making its first delivery of …

(Biofuels International)  After recently acquiring joint venture operations in Central Java, Indonesia, renewable energy company Jatoil has secured its first sale of a commercial quantity of crude jatropha oil.
The sale is under a new four-year …

(The Economist) Palm oil is a popular, cheap commodity, which green activists are doing their best to turn into a commercial liability. Companies are finding them impossible to ignore.
…The charges against palm oil are serious: …

by Beth Gardiner  (New York Times)  Ubiquitous in products from cookies to cosmetics, and increasingly in European fuel tanks, too, palm oil is driving the destruction of some of Southeast Asia’s last tracts of untouched …

“From Investment, Densification to Transportation”
Biomass Pellets Trade Asia conference, to be held from 27-29 September in Jakarta, explores the potential for investment, densification and transportation of biomass pellets within and out of Asia.
As renewable energy directives …

(New World Energy)  Indonesia based PT New World Energy (NWE) and leading multi-national appliance manufacturer, Bosch and Siemens Home Appliance Group (BSH) of Germany recently partnered together on a pilot project to bring clean cooking …

(TradingMarkets.com)  South Korea’s EN3 Green Energy Co. Ltd plans to produce bio-ethanol using cassava root as the basic material in South Sulawesi.
EN3 already have three factories in Gowa and Takalar in that province producing cassava …

(Antara News)  A biodiesel and ethanol plant under construction in Beunyot village, Juli subdistrict, Bireuen regency, Aceh province, is scheduled for operation in the middle of this year.  Bireuen regent Nurdin AR said, … “The …

(TodayOnline) Can algae oil be viably converted to kerosene for jet fuel that might one day power the world’s aircraft? This is something a new 12-month collaboration between A*Star’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences …

(New Tang Dynasty Television)  The kamani tree grows well throughout the coastal area in Yogyakarta, and produces abundant fruit. Traditionally, the fruit is used for cooking and firewood. But villagers in Yogyakarta are using it …