by Kevin Billinghurst  (KTH)  The KTH-led, 26-member consortium BRISK has begun accepting proposals from researchers studying improved production methods for biofuels and thermal biomass conversion. Financed by €11 million in EU research funds, the project …

(Renewable Energy Magazine)  The European renewable ethanol industry is contributing substantially to the European economy according to ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, in response to a new report published today.
The report “Contribution of Biofuels to …

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 …

(Wall Street Journal/Governors Biofuels Coalition)  Top European Union policy makers will next week be faced with one of Europe’s most controversial climate policies, as they consider whether biofuels do more harm than good when it …

(EurActiv)  Conventional biofuels like biodiesel increase carbon dioxide emissions and are too expensive to consider as a long-term alternative fuel, a draft EU report says.

The study ‘EU Transport GHG [greenhouse gases]: Routes to 2050’ estimates that …

(GreenAir Online)  The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which advises the UK government on national carbon targets, has recommended international aviation and shipping emissions be included in carbon budgets and the UK’s 2050 overall target …

(NFU Online)  The updated Red Tractor farm assurance scheme for crops and sugar beet is on the verge of being officially accepted across the EU in time for this year’s harvest, the NFU said today.
The move is …

by Antje Grzesik (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ISCC System GmbH)  …The EU Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC) establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources in the European Union. In the area of biofuels …

by Erin Voegele   (Biodiesel Magazine)   Archer Daniels Midland Co. Agri-Industries Lloydminster oilseeds processing facility recently announced the introduction of its Sustainable Grower Program in connection with the sustainability certification it has earned from …

(Netzwerk Biotriebstoffe)  The report deals with the question “why sustainable alternative fuels are important for aviation, shows technology options, initiatives, links, documents and further research needs. The objective of the meeting between experts of both …

(Platts)  A decision in favor of recognizing Ensus, a UK biofuel sustainability certification scheme, will be taken in “a matter of weeks,” a European Commission source said Monday.
UK bioethanol producer Ensus received the support of …

(Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative/PhysOrg)  Plane makers and bitter rivals Airbus of Europe, Boeing of the US and Embraer of Brazil announced on Thursday a joint plan to develop affordable biofuels for the airplane industry.
The airplane sector …

by Eric van den Heuve (Edofys)  Biofuels might offer opportunities for achieving improved balance of power to the European airlines in their high competitive market. It faces high rivalry and increasing fuel costs due to …

by Robert Vierhout   (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …In my opinion, the delay in putting a bill on the table is caused by the fact that the ILUC ‘science’ is simply not conclusive. A study by the …

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 …

(GreenAirOnline)   A bill introduced into the US upper house by Republican Senator John Thune that would prohibit US aircraft operators from participating in the EU ETS has received backing from Senator Claire McCaskill, a …

by Stu Ellis (FarmGateBlog)  Every day supertankers full of $100 per barrel oil are docking at US ports where other supertankers full of $1 per gallon ethanol have just departed for overseas markets.  While some …

by Charlie Dunmore and Ivana Sekularac (Reuters)  The European Union will almost certainly not meet their targets for cutting emissions of fuels in the transportation sector if policymakers act on the basis of scientific warnings …

by Nina Chestney (Reuters)  Water management company Aqualia plans to launch a commercial-scale demonstration project using waste water to cultivate algae for biofuel production, which could fuel 400 vehicles, the firm said on Monday.
Spain’s Aqualia, …

by Francesco Guarascio and Barbara Lewis (Reuters)  The EU forestry and farming sectors will have to monitor and report from 2013 any changes to land use that could affect greenhouse gas emissions as part of the bloc’s …

by Alex Morales (Bloomberg)  Royal DSM NV, the Dutch enzyme maker which last month set up a cellulosic ethanol venture with Poet LLC, is seeking similar tie-ups in Brazil, China and Europe, Chief Executive Officer Feike Sijbesma said.
DSM …

by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Between April 2010 and April 2011, the U.K. used 428 million liters of used cooking oil (UCO) for the production of biodiesel. It has become the primary source for …

by Justin Doom  (Bloomberg) Novozymes A/S (NZYMB), the world’s biggest maker of enzymes for biofuels, is focusing its expansion efforts in Europe, China and Brazil and isn’t pursuing new projects in the U.S. because of the lack of political …

(EurActiv)  The European Commission has asked airlines to report on “the amount of biomass” they use so that biofuels can be accounted as “zero emission” in the greenhouse gas emissions reports they are requested to …

(European Commission)  The European Commission has today presented its strategy and action plan for a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe, called “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe”. The goal is a more innovative and low-emissions economy, …

by Leithen Francis (Aviation Week)  The International Air Transport Association’s target of carbon neutral growth from 2020 can still be achieved, but the airline industry “can’t do it on our own,” says IATA head Tony …

(Renewable Energy Magazine)  Recent studies commissioned by NGOs Friends of the Earth and ActionAid claim that biofuels, including ethanol, will cost EU consumers €126 billion at the petrol pump between now and 2020. ePURE, the European …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe)  There is mounting concern that increasing biofuels production is having significant biodiversity impacts. A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimated that achieving the EU target would lead to a global …

By Alessandro Torello (Wall Street Journal)  …But this plant, with a capacity of 800,000 metric tons a year, and others built by different companies around Europe face a new challenge: a possible shift in EU …

by Alex Morales (Reuters)  European Union policies to promote the use of biofuels for transportation will cost consumers as much as 126 billion euros ($166 billion) between now and 2020, two environmental groups said.
The fuels, …

(EurActiv)  Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU …

by Alvaro Cordero  (Ethanol Producer Magazine/U.S. Grains Council)  From a barely recognized feed alternative 10 years ago, distillers dried grains with solubles continues to gain recognition and markets. DDGS is now widely recognized internationally, where …

(Balkans.com)  Cyprus Agricultural Research Institute, a non-profit branch of the Agriculture Ministry, wants to grow tiny algae and see if they are a good biofuels alternative to diesel reports Cyprus Mail. …A solution seems to …

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 Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  One would think that a relatively easy way for governments to promote biofuels would be to tax biofuels less than fossil fuels—avoid lengthy debates on mandates and simply change …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …In July 2011, the European Union belatedly approved the first seven voluntary sustainability schemes for biofuels as required by the Renewable Energy Directive. The directive, commonly referred to as …

by Jonathan Williams (Biofuels Digest)  Who’s in front in the development of algal-based fuels and biomaterials? India, China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Israel, the EU, or the US. The NAABB’s globe-trotting chief parses it out.
In New …

by Victoria Bryan  (Reuters)  German carrier Lufthansa is ending the trial use of a biofuel mix for its planes because it has used up stocks of certified biofuel and no other reliable supplies are available.
The trial, …

(European Commission CORDIS)  Europeans believe in a sustainable environment, and a way of ensuring its future is to promote and build energy resources based on residual biomass. Supporting this objective is the BIOBOOST (‘Biomass-based energy …

by Scott Larson   (The Star Phoenix)  A new market for canola growers is opening up in Europe, says a representative for Control Union, a Netherland-based company that certifies supply chains for products entering Europe.
While …

(European Commission)  Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050, the EU is exploring the challenges of decarbonisation.
In March this year the EU published its low-carbon roadmap covering all sections …

by Juliet Eilperin (The Washington Post)  Europe’s highest court ruled Wednesday that the European Union has the legal right to force foreign airlines to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, a decision that could boost …

by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE)  In various circles, the current thinking on indirect land use change (ILUC) is very much driven by negative perceptions. In the EU, the concern is that biofuel policy is …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …In September, Ed Hubbard, legislative counsel for the Renewable Fuels Association, addressed the topic of ethanol exports during a presentation at an ethanol logistics conference held in New Orleans. …

You are invited to join the EU BC&E 2012, 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18 – 22 June 2012 at the Milano Convention Centre in Milano, Italy.
With this event, we will continue the biomass specialist’s role …

(The Bioenergy Site)  Starting February 1, 2012, a Sustainability Decision from the Swedish Energy Agency is required for biofuels in order to be eligible for tax incentives or to count for mandatory national renewable energy …

by John Terrett  (AlJazeera)  Some US airlines have begun testing enviromentally friendly fuel. And while the efforts may help the environment, unlike in the European Union, the US government does not force airliners to go …

(Eurasia Review)  The European Union renewable energy regulation may became a subject of dispute in the World Trade Organization (WTO),  warned Monday the Globalization Institute, adding that lack of transparency and discrimination towards foreign biofuel …

(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 Igor Dormuth and Elena Schmidt (Biomass Power and Thermal/TÜV SÜD Industrie Service)   New EU sustainability criteria for biofuels and other bioliquids must be complied with and verified by an independent third party at …