by Brian Westenhaus (OilPrice.com) According to Promode Kant from the Institute of Green Economy in India and Shuirong Wu of the Chinese Academy of Forestry some 12.8 million ha (49,421 square miles) are expected to be planted with jatropha by
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...But a new generation of technologies is coming along fast, primarily in advanced biofuels, which is gasifying biomass at the front end along its path towards making fuels, chemicals or other biomaterials – or in
(China Briefing) Following its announcement in December last year that pure biodiesel made from waste plant and animal oil is exempt from consumption tax, the Chinese government has recently clarified the actual scope of animal and plant oils subject to such
by John C.K. Daly (Oilprice.com) After years of existing largely as an environmentalist's fantasy, commercial production of biofuels for the world civil aviation industry is slowly becoming a fact, with production starting up across three continents. The leading contenders for biofuel
by Liz Lee (The Star) Lestari, Arter Group to build 616 plants Lestari Pasifik Bhd, in an unprecedented joint venture with Russian company Arter Group, is expecting to receive project financing from the Chinese government to build bio-refinery plants in Malaysia and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Financing of clean energy got you down? The Green Bank clears a key Senate hurdle, and Bank of America chairman Chad Holliday helps explain why that’s important Last month, amidst the brouhaha of the US debt
by Riggs Eckelberry (OriginOil/Algae Industry Magazine) ecently, Australia’s largest ethanol producer, Manildra, diversified its biofuel portfolio by entering into algae production. In cooperation with Atlanta-based Algae Tec, Manildra will build a demonstration facility near Manildra’s ethanol production plant in Nowra,
by Steve Leone (Renewable Energy World) ...In August, Air China will embark on its first flight with biofuels grown in China through a partnership between Petro China and UOP. The hope for biofuel producers is that the Chinese government will
by Jack Kaskey (Bloomberg) Celanese Corp. (CE) would make low-cost ethanol for U.S. motorists using natural gas if policy makers end subsidies for corn-based production and amend the law that allows only renewable sources of the fuel additive. Celanese can make
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The drivers for biofuels and cleantech as a whole? According to the 2010 China Statistical Yearbook, from 2005 to 2009 the gross domestic product of China grew at a compound annual growth rate of 16.5%
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...A combination of industrial biotech know-how, an array of biomass feedstocks (particularly lignocellulose), a strong and growing domestic market, and ready access to scale-up debt for scale-up through China’s steadier project finance system – well,
With the impact of increased Bioenergy utilization factors, BIT Life Sciences and the organizing committee launched the 2nd Annual World Congress of Bioenergy-2012 (WCBE-2012), with a theme of Renewable Energy for Sustainability will be held during April 25-28, 2012, Xi’an,
by Jonathan Williams (Algae Industry Magazine) In December 2009, Seambiotic announced that they would be building an algae production plant that will use flue gas in China. Though originally scheduled to be operational in 2010, the plant will open in September
by Tom Polansek, Ian Berry and Scott Kilman (Wall Street Journal) Demand From Beijing Augurs Higher Food, Futures Prices A Chinese buying spree for U.S. corn is putting on display the ability of Beijing to reshape grain markets as well
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... That the freighters out of China contain low-cost manufactured goods would surprise no one. The trick of the trade, from the ship owners’ point of view, has always been to develop a profitable cargo
(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 energy companies. ...The company builds plants
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Mendel CEO Neal Gutterson talks about miscanthus, and the role of the power sector as the driver of a global supply chain for biomass. ...The company’s IP lies in its understanding of a large class of
(Businesswire/Celanese) Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, today announced it will accelerate its original schedule and now expects to begin industrial ethanol production in China earlier than previously announced. In addition to the company’s previously announced
by Mark Halper (SmartPlanet) Jet biofuels should get a boost this Friday, when Honeywell has scheduled a trans-Atlantic flight heading to Paris from Morristown, N.J., powered by Honeywell-branded Green Jet Fuel. The corporate jet, a Gulfstream 6450, will carry executives from
by Liu Yuanyuan (Renewable Energy World) The municipal government of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, has been creating a roadmap for the development of the local biodiesel sector, setting guidelines, goals and policies in a move to regulate the
by Thomas Saidak (Biofuels Digest) ...AMG plans to use a portion of the proceeds to pay China Zhejiang Biodiesel as a part of a previously announced agreement to purchase a 133 hectare jatropha plantation and a 201
by Michelle Ho (Platts) State-owned refiner PetroVietnam plans to export around 85% of its fuel-grade ethanol production upon its startup until 2013, when it expects the Vietnamese government to implement a mandate that requires 5% of all gasoline sold in
(TMO Renewables) Leading Chinese corporations, COFCO and CNOOC, select TMO as second generation ethanol technology partner TMO Renewables Ltd, a leading developer of a new process for converting biomass into fuel ethanol is proud to announce that it has been selected
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 percent by 2020. India moved to
by Wang Xiaotian (China Daily) The nation has plans to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 45 percent by 2020 China can become a leader in the production of second-generation (2G) biofuels, made from agricultural waste instead of foodstuffs, such
by William McLennan (The Ecologist) Campaigners are outraged over airline Lufthansa and German government funding for jatropha biofuels trial The German government is financing a leading European airline’s biofuel trials despite claims from environmental groups it could cause emissions six time
by Bao Chang (China Daily) New process uses bio-waste instead of grains to make gasoline additive China should boost its fuel ethanol industry as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and oil dependency, said China National Cereals, Oils and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...How’s an investor to parse out all these technologies. For many, it’s a case of “you’re making what, from what, using what?” ...Here at the Digest, we think of it as a kind of old fashioned
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Two companies working on building ethanol plants in China announced progress in their project development in late March. Construction began on a demonstration plant that will produce ethanol from steel mill off-gases
(Scientific American) China outshines the U.S. as the top investor, while Europe is a close third The U.S. has been a major player in clean energy technologies, but China is now the leader. The top six European countries, together, are
by Jon LeSage (Green Machine Digest) ... "Biofuels is the area that makes most sense for oil companies, as it aligns most easily to existing infrastructure and knowledge. However, biofuels growth in China will be carefully managed by government departments
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Zealand, LanzaTech is partnering with China’s LCY Chemical Corporation to identify key bio-based chemicals to produce for global fuels and chemicals markets. Mr Lee says LCY plans to investigate alternative bio-C2 to C5
(DailyMarkets/PR Newswire) Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) today announced the creation of the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used to create jet fuel and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DOE’s Biomass Program Lead Engineer warns that, when it comes to biofuels, “it’s the economy, stupid”. In Georgia, DOE Biomass Program Lead Engineer Brian Duff, keynoting the BioPro Expo in Atlanta, said that “dependence on
by Niu Shuping and Li Ran (Reuters) China's largest animal feed producer, New Hope Group, called on the government to stop its anti-dumping investigation against exports of U.S. DDGS, a by-product of corn-based ethanol used to substitute corn by feed
(GlobeNewsWire) American Jianye Greentech Holdings, Ltd. , a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of alcohol-based automobile fuel and civil-use fuel in China, today announced that AJGH has received approval to undertake a new project in alcohol-based biodiesel fuel production. Specifically, AJGH
(Green Car Congress) A team from the Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences reports on a pilot-scale biomass-gasification-reforming system with optimized catalyst to produce synthesis gas for liquid fuel
(Jamaica Information Service) A $10.3 million research partnership agreement for a small scale biodiesel pilot project, using Jamaican oilseed bearing plants to produce fuel, was signed Friday February 11 between the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica’s Centre of Excellence for Renewable
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 in the trading pipelines. Globally,
(Algae Industry Magazine) Ben Cloud had a radical idea. Coming from an agricultural background that included 17 years as president and CEO of Western Agri-Group—a diversified farming enterprise comprising 4500 acres and 250 employees producing, packing and shipping dates, cotton,
(GreenAir Online) Air China and Boeing have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the intention of carrying out a trans-Pacific biofuel flight between China and the US, and will follow China’s first biofuel demonstration flight planned for the second half
by Dana Blankenhorn (Renewable Energy World) ...There are 17 elements classified as Rare Earths. Rare Earths aren't really rare. It's just rare to find them in commercial-grade ore. China has lots of Rare Earths, and as part of its export-oriented economic
(PR Log) According to Industrial Biotechnologies China News,unlike most producers of cellulosic-based ethanol adopting straw as raw material, the joint venture will choose kenaf as raw material with several obvious strengths. On January 6, 2011, Bio-Dynamic Group Limited (or Bio-Dynamic Group)
(The Independent) Pressure on Opec, which has a vested interest in a high oil price, offers no long-term solution Is the world on the brink of another ruinous oil shock? The International Energy Agency (IEA), which speaks for the big industrialised consumers
(Bloomberg) A Chinese company plans to produce jatropha ... in the Democratic Republic of Congo,...Greater Kingdom Group, has asked for 10,000 hectares in each of the provinces... READ MORE
(BusinessWire/Accenture) China could lead the race to roll out electric vehicles and will deploy new transport technologies at scale more quickly than the United States, according to a report by Accenture that compares the two countries. But the US could
(GCiS China/PR.com) China’s pricing controls, subsidies and cultivation policies have played a critical role in shaping this USD 2.3 Bn market, but over-regulation has made it unattractive for profit making ventures and the much needed innovation they bring. GCiS China
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 to burst on the scene
by Christopher Klug (Tiny Green Bubble) ...According to the Renewable Fuels Association data, the United States produced and used approximately 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009, making the US the largest producer of ethanol in the world. (Renewable Fuels
by Michael Berger (Nanowerk) Nanotechnology researchers working on self-powered nanodevices – nanoscale systems that scavenge energy from their surrounding environment – have been experimenting with various power sources ranging from piezoelectric systems ("Electricity-generating silicone implants could power electronic devices") to sound
(Green Car Congress/FavStocks) Chinese carmaker Jianghuai Automobile Co.,Ltd. (JAC) shipped 500 ethanol-powered cars to Brazil at the end of December, the first batch resulting from a deal signed in August with Brazilian dealer SHC to export 620,000 units to Brazil over
(Reuters) China's Finance Ministry has retroactively exempted consumption tax on pure biodiesel made from waste animal fats or vegetable oils, and will refund taxes already paid over the last two years. The policy is backdated to January 1, 2009... It will make
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) 2010 is sure to be remembered as the year Asia’s biofuels boom became self-sustaining. Double digit Asian economic growth, government and private investment, international business collaborations and research networks drove progress as national policy mandates
(Bloomberg) China, the world’s biggest grains user, has started an anti-dumping investigation into U.S. shipments of dried distillers’ grains, an animal feed ingredient, adding to tensions in ongoing trade disputes. The government will probe for unfair trade practices on products imported in
by George Will (The Washington Post) Cowlitz County in Washington state ...approved construction of a coal export terminal from which millions of tons of U.S. coal could be shipped to Asia annually. Both Oregon and Washington are curtailing the coal-fired generation
by Fiona Harvey (Financial Times) ...Green Biologics, an unlisted company, has signed deals with two Chinese biochemical businesses – Guangxi Jinyuan Biochemical and Lianyungang Union of Chemicals. Under the deals – expected to be worth about £10m ($15m) over the next five
(China Daily) China's bioethanol production will reach 10 million tons a year by 2020, resulting in a 10 percent drop in oil imports, according to COFCO group, China's largest grain trader. ...COFCO, Novozymes and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) are
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 11 that the Digest spotted. 1.
(People's Daily) A Chinese science academy in east China's Shandong Province has clinched a deal to introduce photobioreactor technology from Chosun University in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to aid the former's research on mass producing oil-rich algae for biodiesel
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Growing biofuels mandates will require 220 “world-scale” cellulosic biofuels plants to be operational in the U.S. by 2020, according to Phil New, CEO of BP Biofuels. The head of the oil giant’s biofuels division
(Green Car Congress/FavStocks) A team from East China University of Science and Technology (Shanghai) and Guangxi University for Nationalities reports on a study of hydrogen production via catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil in a fluidized-bed reactor in paper published online 12
(Alibaba.com) State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) has sold out its first batch of biodiesel on the island province of Hainan, the company said on Wednesday. The fuel was blended into normal diesel and offered to drivers starting from
(Digital Journal/Marketwire) AMG Bioenergy Resources Holdings Ltd. (The Company) announced that it has just signed a Letter of Intent with China Zhejiang Biodiesel Co, Ltd ("CZBC") to acquire the Eucalyptus and Jatropha Plantation assets that CZBC has developed in Guangdong province,
by Carl Holm (ABC Science) A team of Australian and Chinese scientists claims to have pioneered a method to decontaminate polluted land and provide an ecologically renewable energy resource in the process. They say the secret lies in a relative of the
(Green Car Congress) A study by researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Tianjin University has found that the use of fumigation ethanol in a 4-cylinder diesel decreases NOx, smoke and particulate mass and number concentrations. An accompanying significant increase
(Verenium) Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development and commercialization of high-performance enzyme solutions, today announced that Purifine(R) PLC, the Company's novel enzyme specifically developed for the edible oil industry, has received all necessary Chinese government authorizations for sale as
(Chicago Breaking Business/Dow Jones Newswire) Boeing Co., in cooperation with Air China Ltd. and others, plans to test a commercial-jet biofuel in China produced from a locally grown plant by the middle of 2011-part of an effort to commercialize cleaner fuels
by Steve LeVine (Foreign Policy) ...China's ban on the export of the 17 so-called rare-earth metals -- indispensible as of now in the manufacture of high-tech products like wind turbines, advanced batteries and flat-screen TVs -- has now passed three
(Algae Industry Magazine) Phyco BioSciences, Inc., has announced an agreement with Hong Kong based China Biological Engineering, Limited to develop two projects in the Peoples Republic of China beginning this Fall. The first project is a joint venture in JaingShu Province
by Shanta Barley (The Guardian) TMO Renewables wins contract with US firm Fiberight using its 'turbo-charged' GM bacteria that convert rubbish into biofuels. A British company that uses a genetically modified compost-heap bug to produce biofuel from rubbish has signed a
by Anuradha Shukla (Smart-Products TMCnet) ...American Jianye Greentech Holdings, Ltd., a China-based developer, manufacturer and distributor of alcohol-based automobile fuels and civil-use fuels, including methanol, ethanol, and blended fuels, announced plans to build a second waste conversion facility, this one
by Hopewell Radebe (Business Day/Reuters) The government yesterday brought hope to grain farmers who are struggling to find alternative markets to dispose of surplus maize following a bumper crop that drove prices down. ... Last month, Grain SA chairman Neels Ferreira called for the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In late 2010, we see again the predatory entry of speculators into the grain markets, and a growing disconnect between ethanol and gasoline prices. As for China? The country has passed the US in terms of
(People's Daily Online) Agricultural experts said Saturday it was too early for China to adopt corn-based ethanol fuel to feed automobiles, given the expensive production costs and the country's large population. Li Xinhua, a professor at Shenyang Agricultural University, said at
By Chanda Beckman & Kirsten Rasmussen (USDA Foreign Agriculture Information Service) On May 27, 2010, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted the fist Sino-U.S. Advanced Biofuels Forum in Beijing.
(People's Daily) China's industrial experts are advising the government to halt projects making ethanol bio-fuel with corn, as the projects are pushing up corn prices and sparking food security concerns. Zhao Youshan, director of the Commercial Petroleum Flow Committee (CPFC) under
Theme: Developing Bio-renewable Energy from Nature WCBE-2011 aims to bring together industry leaders, professors, policy makers, investors, and researchers and provide a unique insight into evolving governmental policies, breakthrough technologies, major project updates and investment strategies for this multi-billion dollar
(Midwest Producer) When China-based Shandong Zhonghui Group Corp. began importing U.S. distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) two years ago, they set in motion a series of actions for what has become an astonishing success story in the U.S. Grains
(Market Watch) Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and other innovative technologies, today announced that Zhuhai Oil Energy Science and Technology Ltd. has significantly increased its biofuel production capacity at its Guangdong operation. Biomagnetics recently signed a
by Camille Ricketts (Green Beat) Five years after its founding, LanzaTech, a company that transforms waste gases released by steel mills into fuel ethanol, is finally commercializing its technology through a new partnership with China’s major iron and steel maker
(Farm Chemicals International) The US Grains Council (USGC) says China could increase its corn purchases from the US to more than 1 million tonnes during the next 18 months, according to Bloomberg. Thomas Dorr, USGC president, stated that he "wouldn’t be
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Digest readers who closely analyze the Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database will have noticed that, commencing in 2012, biobutanol is scheduled to grow rapidly from pilot stage today to more than 500 million gallons in production by
by Michael Dynes (The New Economy) Of the billions of dollars that have been ploughed into the biofuel sector around the world over the past decade, only a tiny fraction has ever found its way to Africa. That is now
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) After a Sunday touring Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China, it was back to work Monday for the delegates on the Indiana Agricultural, Jobs and Investment Trade Mission. ...Next was a
by Dr Ma Xiangshan (CAAC, GreenAirOnline.com) ...The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) defines the sustainable development of the civil aviation sector as “the development of civil aviation towards a resource-economical and environment-friendly industry by actively promoting energy savings and
(Chempolis) Chempolis has signed a licence and EPC agreement with Tianjin Jiuqian Paper Co Ltd. to supply three formico® biorefineries, each capable of producing 100,000 t/a of bleached wheat straw pulp. The new plants are scheduled to start up in 2012-2013. Chempolis’
(Boeing) Boeing and PetroChina, together with representatives of the Chinese energy sector and the global aviation industry, May 27, 2010, announced the signing of an agreement to evaluate establishing a sustainable aviation biofuels industry in China. The strategic assessment is the first such
by Max Showalter (JCOnline.com) A startup company at the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette has developed an innovative yeast-based cellulosic ethanol technology and will get a big boost Wednesday and Thursday in Beijing. Representatives of Green Tech America Inc., founded by
(PR Newswire) China Integrated Energy, Inc., a leading non-state-owned integrated energy company in the People's Republic of China, announced today that it has secured production equipment for its new 50,000 ton biodiesel production facility currently being constructed in Tongchuan City,
(Sandia National Laboratory) Understanding the key elements of biofuel combustion is an important step toward insightful selection of next-generation alternative fuels. And that’s exactly what researchers at Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories are doing. The journal Angewandte Chemie devotes its May
by Eric Petermann (The Journal-Standard) Furst-McNess has started a new business that markets a by-product of ethanol production, dry distillers’ grain, for use as a feed supplement for livestock, and has already established a relationship that exports that product to
(Reuters) Henan Tianguan Group Co. Ltd, China's second largest fuel ethanol producer, plans to build plants in Southeast Asia to produce the renewable fuel and send it to China, company president Zhang Xiaoyang said on Wednesday. Based in China's central province
(iStock Analyst) ...Li Rongjie, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, said the country could potentially produce 1.2 billion tons of dry cellulosic biomass per year, which has the energy content of 400 million tons of
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) BIO exec VP Brent Erickson ruefully noted in a conference with reporters that the biofuels industry was “very disappointed in the loan guarantee program. Biomass was mixed in with wind and solar, which have much
China's poisonous jatropha shrub is showing promise as biofuel and could boost the country's efforts to reduce dependency on imported crude oil. In the past, farmers planted the poisonous perennial only as a barrier to ward off animals from their fields.
(Renewable Energy Magazine) Albeit it hazy, news regularly filters out of China about the progress this country is making in using cassava as a raw material for producing bioethanol. The latest is that the Chinese have completed mapping the genome
by Adam Bell (The Journal) A new partnership between Edinburgh Napier University and City University Hong Kong (CityU) will see the opening of the first Biofuel Research Centre in the Chinese city. The centre in Hong Kong will be a
(RightSite) As China's solar and wind power sectors grab headlines, leading agribusiness companies are grabbing a foothold in China's biofuel sector. As oil prices threaten to rise in years to come, China's drive to create a biofuel industry that does
by Jonathan Watts (The Guardian) Chinese firm behind ambitious plan to breed microalgae in greenhouse with the potential to absorb carbon emissions ...Developed by a groundbreaking Chinese firm, ENN, the greenhouse is a bioreactor that breeds microalgae, one of the fastest
by Elizabeth Nesbitt (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The increasing use of industrial biotechnology by the Chinese liquid biofuels and chemical industries is expected to help offset energy security and environmental concerns generated by China’s robust economic growth. The expanding use of bioprocesses
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