by Yans Felippe Geckler (IPS News) Brazil has begun a counterattack on the European Union's measures for certifying crop-based fuels, which could lead to import barriers for this energy source coming from the South American giant. ...The EU's certification requirements for
Brazil
Back TO HOMECeres Opens a Subsidiary in Brazil to Develop the Business of Sweet Sorghum
(Ceres) Ceres , Inc., a leader in developing cultivars for bioenergy created a subsidiary in Brazil. The announcement marks an expansion of the subsidiary activities of sweet sorghum in Brazil and the company's goal to be the first supplier to the
August 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Costs and Benefits to Taxpayers, Consumers, and Producers from U.S. Ethanol Policies
by Bruce A. Babcock, Kanlaya J. Barr, Miguel Carriquiry (Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Iowa State University) The U.S. ethanol industry is lobbying hard for an extension of existing ethanol import tariffs and blenders tax credits before they expire
July 21, 2010 Read Full Article
$540 Million Boosts Brazil’s Ethanol Sector
(Biofuels International) The Brazilian Innovation Agency, FINEP (Research and Projects Financing), and Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) have entered into a new partnership to promote bioethanol development, establishing a programme which will provide up to $540 million (€438.9 million) in
June 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazil: The Bossa Nova of Biofuels
by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) Shell, BP, Bunge, LS9, Dow and Amyris are collectively investing more than $20 billion into advanced, sustainable biofuels in Brazil. This new relationship between Brazilian, US and EU public and private industries is kicking off a
June 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Benefits of Sugarcane Ethanol to Hit U.S. Airwaves in New TV Ads during ‘Indy 500’ Telecast on ABC
(SweeterAlternative.com) Sugarcane ethanol is a clean, renewable fuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 60% compared to gasoline and can save money at the pump. These are just a couple of the points delivered by various race drivers that compete
May 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Visualizing Sustainability: Developing Geospatial Technology to Address Sustainable Biofuel Production: Modeling Land Use and Land Use Change in Brazil
By Leila Harfuch (Brazilian Institute for International Trade Negotiations). In her talk she underlined the modeling land use and land use change in Brazil, stressing out deforestation as a serious issue. Deforestation causes and affects cattle and pasture land expansion. The
April 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol Launches Marketing Blitz in Face of U.S. Tariffs
by Nick Chambers (Gas2.0) Calling themselves the “underdogs,” the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has today launched an advertising campaign and a new website, sweeteralternative.com, to bring awareness of the successes of the Brazilian ethanol industry to a U.S. audience. The
April 13, 2010 Read Full Article
The Dirty Underside of Lula's Clean Energy Revolution
by Nikolas Kozloff (Foreign Policy) ...Buffeted by the oil price shock of 1973, the country's military dictators grew concerned about Brazil's reliance on foreign imports of fossil fuels. Their solution: Pour government subsidies into the sugar industry and mandate ethanol
April 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Tilapia Entrails Churn Out Biodiesel
(FIS) The Ceara Nucleus Foundation of Industrial Technology (NUTEC) is moving forward with a project that will transform it into a pioneer in the research of biodiesel production from tilapia entrails. For Fernando Pedro Dias, a researcher at NUTEC, the
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazil’s Petrobras to Double Production at Its Biggest Biodiesel Unit
(MacauHub) Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said Monday it would invest 66 million reals to double production at the country’s biggest biodiesel factory. The investment will make it possible to increase production at the Candeias unit from 108.6 million litres per
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Cosan Reviewed
by Brendan Coffey (Cabot Wealth Advisory) Lately, we're seeing increasing strength in the shares of ethanol-related companies. Commodity broker Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has built up its position as an ethanol refiner, building its own plants and buying up other
February 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Eco-Biofuels from the Tropics
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental impact. This conclusion was drawn
February 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Has Big Oil Finally Gotten Serious About Biofuels?
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) ...If we consider that the oil majors are not in the oil business, but rather, the infrastructure business --- and as long as they control the liquids that come out of the pumps, they won't care
February 15, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Renewable Fuel Standards Upend Ethanol Tariff Fight
by Brian Baskin (SugarcaneBlog.com, Dow Jones) U.S. ethanol producers are facing their toughest fight yet to keep long-standing trade protections intact. Producers of ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually distilled from corn and then blended to make gasoline, have
February 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell Bets Billions on Brazilian Ethanol
by Sam Hopkins (Green Chip Stocks) ...Cosan is entering into a joint venture with an oil giant that could be worth $12 billion, and its happy beginning to 2010 signals a renewal of interest in ethanol and entrance of some
February 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Indirect Land-Use Changes Can Overcome Carbon Savings from Biofuels in Brazil
David M. Lapola, Ruediger Schaldach, Joseph Alcamo, Alberte Bondeau, Jennifer Koch, Christina Koelking, and Joerg A. Priess (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Abstract: The planned expansion of biofuel plantations in Brazil could potentially cause both direct and indirect
February 15, 2010 Read Full Article
US Ethanol Industry Looks To Possible Future As Exporter
by Ian Berry (Dow Jones Newswires) ...Brazil, faced with tightening supplies of its sugarcane-based ethanol as growers there find better profits in sugar, said last month it is considering importing U.S., corn-based ethanol. While there are limits on how much
February 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Iran and Brazil to Join for Ethanol Production
(BlackSeaGrain) According to the Iranian Fars Newsagency, Mr (Deputy Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Czar) Gadella said that Brazil is ready to cooperate with Iran in fields of technology and production to help the country produce ethanol from sugar cane
February 02, 2010 Read Full Article
New Brazilian Laboratory Will Develop Research on Ethanol Cycle
The new research center, Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology National Laboratory, in Campinas, São Paulo State represents a strategic move by the Brazilian Government toward strengthening the country’s leadership in sustainable production of ethanol from sugar cane and fostering innovation
February 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazil's Petrobras To Study Biofuels Use At Low Temperatures
by Jeff Fick (Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal) Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, signed a deal with the country's Navy to test biofuels at extremely low temperatures. Petrobras will invest 3 million Brazilian reals ($1.69 million)
January 22, 2010 Read Full Article
China's Low Tariff Opens Door for Ethanol Imports
(Reuters) China has agreed to lower the tariff on imports of ethanol to 5 percent from the previous 30 percent, which traders said could open the door for imports of fuel ethanol from countries like Brazil. …Brazil, the world's largest ethanol exporter,
January 02, 2010 Read Full Article
GE, Embraer, Others Studying Sugarcane-Based Jet Fuel
Embraer, General Electric, and Amyris announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate thetechnical and sustainability aspects of Amyris’ No Compromise® renewable jet fuel. The initiative can culminate in a demo flight, by early 2012, of an Embraer E-Jet
December 29, 2009 Read Full Article
Petrobras CEO Highlights Performance in 2009
(Pre-Salt) The president of Petrobras, José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, ... presented an overview of activities in 2009 . ... "Petrobras has expanded production capacity allowed in biodiesel plants and intensified contacts to expand presence in the area of ethanol. We
December 10, 2009 Read Full Article
VIDEO: Brazilian Government Tackling Climate Change in Brazil
The Brazilian National Plan on Climate Change, launched in December 2008, comprises a set of over one hundred actions and programs to reduce carbon emissions across different sectors of the Brazilian economy. The two main tactics emphasized in the plan
December 09, 2009 Read Full Article
Amyris Signs Letters of Intent Agreements with Bunge, Cosan and Guarani
Amyris Brasil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. today announced that it has entered into letter of intent agreements with three sugar and ethanol producers in Brazil, Bunge Limited, Cosan and Açúcar Guarani, with the purpose of partnering
December 09, 2009 Read Full Article
The Movement to Mechanized Sugarcane Harvesting in Brazil
by Joanna Schroeder (AgWired) ... (In Brazil) This year the industry harvested 471.5 million tons, an increase of 7.5 percent from last year, even accounting for excessive rains that left a significant amount of sugarcane in the fields. So how
December 04, 2009 Read Full Article
Jatropha Takes Root in Brazil
by Robert P. Walzer (New York Times) A Brazilian start-up is testing the possibility of implementing a large-scale biofuels project using jatropha, a family of hardy, succulent plants. The company, BioVentures Brasil, is getting $1 million from the InterAmerican Development Bank for
December 04, 2009 Read Full Article
Embraer, GE Plan Biofuel Flight
by Mary Grady (AVWeb) Embraer and General Electric will flight-test a renewable jet fuel by early 2012, the companies said. They plan to use a renewable biofuel made from sugar cane, developed by Amyris Biotechnologies, which is based in California
November 23, 2009 Read Full Article
Indian Sugar Firms Seek Higher Ethanol Prices
(Reuters) Indian sugar firms are seeking a higher price for ethanol to ensure steady supplies to oil firms which blend the liquid with petrol, a senior industry official said. Diminishing cane output and rising sugar prices had raised concerns that
November 22, 2009 Read Full Article
Brazil Raises Cane over U.S. Ethanol Tariff
by Chris Kraul (LA Times) Who could resent the attention being showered on electric cars? Stylish and clean, they're the darling of the renewable-energy crowd, which is hailing the scheduled rollout of several e-powered models next year as a major blow
November 06, 2009 Read Full Article
Brazil's Cosan Sees 2010/11 Cane Crush at 58 mln T
by Inae Riveras (Reuters) ... Brazil's largest sugar and ethanol producing group, said it expects to crush 58 million tonnes of cane in 2010/11 (April-March), up from 54 million tonnes in 2009/10. "We expect to grow at the same rate as
October 27, 2009 Read Full Article
Brazil Drivers Ditch Biofuel Over High Sugar Costs
by Peter Murphy (Reuters) Some Brazilian motorists who fuel their cars solely on cane-based ethanol are switching back to gasoline as high sugar prices now make the biofuel more costly in some states. Brazil is a pioneer in biofuel with its
October 27, 2009 Read Full Article
Cane Ethanol Helps Cut Greenhouse Emissions: Brazilian Study
by Inae Riveras (Reuters) Use of sugar cane-based ethanol as a substitute for gasoline is among the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Brazilian study. Cane ethanol provides about eight times the energy used
October 23, 2009 Read Full Article
Brazil Increases Environmental Preservation Measures With Sugarcane Zoning Proposal
In an unprecedented initiative, Brazil proposed a new bill of law that will restrict the lands permissible for sugarcane farming and processing. If passed, the bill sent today to the National Congress by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will
September 18, 2009 Read Full Article
Leading Brazilian Organizations Unite in Alliance to Fight Climate Change
Fourteen major Brazilian organizations representing the agribusiness, planted forests and bioenergy sectors announced today the creation of the Brazilian Climate Alliance, to provide concrete, constructive proposals in global climate change negotiations. The group's main focus is Brazilian government's positioning in
September 03, 2009 Read Full Article
Amyris Opens Renewable Products Demonstration Facility in Brazil
Amyris Brasil Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Ltda., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., today announced the opening of the Amyris Renewable Products Demonstration Facility in Campinas. The facility, located in the midst of the sugar cane processing industry, secures
June 29, 2009 Read Full Article
Sudan Inaugurates Biofuel Plant
Sudan will begin producing ethanol from sugar cane with a target of 200 million litres in two years, President Omar al-Beshir said on Wednesday at the inauguration of a new plant. State company Kenana, which already makes sugar and molasses,
June 17, 2009 Read Full Article
Study Planned of Brazilian Sugarcane Bagasse as Cellulosic Ethanol Feedstock
by Lisa Gibson, Biomass Magazine. Brazil could produce 4.6 billion to 8.2 billion liters (1.2 billion to 2.2 billion gallons) of biofuel from sugarcane residue by 2020, in addition to that made from sugar itself, according to a recently released
June 17, 2009 Read Full Article
DTN and The Guardian/Greenpeace Report on Brazil Deforestation
By Kieran Gartlan (DTN): The transformation began last year when a controversial study was published in Science Magazine by environmentalist Tim Searchinger. It introduced the innocuous four-letter acronym ILUC, or Indirect Land Use Change. According to ILUC theory, corn used for
June 01, 2009 Read Full Article
Industrial Biotechnology in China Amidst Changing Market Conditions
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