(Economic Times/India Times) In one of the biggest initiatives for bio-fuel production in the country, Indian Railways is poised to set up four bio-diesel plants costing about Rs 120 crore. While two bio-diesel esterification plants are going to be commissioned at
India
Back TO HOMERailways to Set up Four Biodiesel Plants
(Deccan Herald) In one of the biggest initiatives for bio-fuel production in the country, Indian Railways is poised to set up four bio-diesel plants costing about Rs 120 crore. While two bio-diesel esterification plants are going to be commissioned at Raipur
February 08, 2011 Read Full Article
India’s Alcohol Wars: Once an Afterthought, Ethanol Now Has too Many Suitors
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) ...The reality, however, is that Indian ethanol plants increasingly are co-located with distilleries, using their waste as feedstock, and as a result competition between the liquor and ethanol industries is decreasing. Where the competition
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Successful Jatropha Planting Season Expanding New Acreage by Over 30%
(Mission NewEnergy Ltd.) Mission NewEnergy Limited, a vertically integrated biodiesel producer and one of the world’s largest Jatropha plantation companies, is pleased to announce results of the Jatropha planting season as follows: Outperformed projected new Jatropha planting target; Increased overall productive
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
India Unveils Coastal Saline Crop Initiative
by P Sivaramakrishnan (BBC News) A pilot project to see if cash crops can be grown in the salty ground of India's coastal areas has been launched. The area in Tamil Nadu state will house dozens of
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Why Indiabulls Sec is Betting on Praj Inds?
(Sugar Industry) Praj Industries, a small cap company provides turnkey plants and equipments for fermentation and distillation systems used in bio fuels processing, primarily which are ethanol related. Sabyasachi Ganguly, Analyst, Indiabulls Securities and author of a report on how
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
The Bitter Taste of India’s Sugar Woes
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest-Asia) India’s recent flip-flops on sugar supply and exports have angered many in the sensitive global commodities markets and even been ascribed to a sort of national dementia. But as is often the case in business,
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
IndianOil and LanzaTech Sign MOU for Fuel Grade Ethanol Technology
(myCFO/LanzaTech) IndianOil, India's flagship petroleum major, and LanzaTech, a leading clean energy technology company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration in a technology demonstration that will enable IndianOil to produce fuel grade ethanol. The MOU was signed in
January 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Confederation of Indian Industry Proposes Bio-Diesel Price Hike
(The Economic Times) The government should raise the price of bio-diesel obtained from the jatropha plant to support the bio-diesel industry's sustainability efforts, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) says. ...The study estimates that if the industry becomes sustainable and
January 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Not Sustainable as Fuels for Automobiles in India: Ramesh
(India Transport Portal) While biofuels are being considered as the alternative fuel for the vehicles in number of countries, they are not the sustainable option as the fuel for automobiles in India, said Jairam Ramesh, Environment Minister of Indian Union
January 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Quantum Leap for the Q Microbe: Qteros closes $22 Million in New Financing; Global Partnership with Praj
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Qteros and Praj will collaborate on a highly focused, multi-year development program with the objective of rapidly developing and commercializing Process Design Packages (PDPs) that enable cellulosic ethanol production using Qteros’ Q Microbe-enabled CBP platform
January 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Sea Water as a Social Resource: Significance of Vedaranyam Salt March
by M.S. Swaminathan(The Hindu) ... On December 26, 2010, which marks the sixth anniversary of the tsunami which caused severe damage in Tamil Nadu and other States, a Salt Satyagraha Memorial Programme is being launched at Vedaranyam by the M.S.
December 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Mission NewEnergy and JOil to Collaborate in Growing New Elite High Yielding Jatropha Varieties
(Mission NewEnergy) Mission NewEnergy Limited, a vertically integrated biodiesel producer and one of the world’s largest Jatropha plantation companies, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with JOil (S) Pte Ltd ("JOil"), a joint
December 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Highlights from Around the World
(Algae Industry Magazine) Australia Australian scientists are claiming the world’s best production rates of oil from algae grown in open saline ponds, following a joint $3.3 million project led by Murdoch University and involving the University of Adelaide. The claims are
December 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Call for Cuts to Trade Barriers for Ethanol and Sugar Trade
(ABC Rural) ...At a meeting in London, the Global Sugar Alliance has called on governments to eliminate subsidies and trade barriers. It says sugar consumption around the world is expected to increase by 40 million tonnes over the next decade, but
December 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Agricultural Waste to Biofuel Research Published in India
(Waste Management World) Two scientists from Sri Paramakalyani Centre of Excellence in Environmental Sciences (SPKCEES) - affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University - have extracted fuel from agro-waste, according to The Hindu Times. C. Sathesh Prabhu, a post-doctoral researcher of the centre,
December 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel Potential in Coastal Districts Will Be Tapped
(Deccan Herald) Sardine oil, cashew apples, jackfruit are good source of bio-ethanol State Taskforce on Biofuels is ready with several initiatives and programmes to boost the production of biofuels. In coastal districts, the taskforce will produce biofuel using cashew apples, jackfruit
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Scientists Join Hands to Develop Biofuel from Microalgae
by Vijaysinh Parmar (Times of India) Scientists from across the country, belonging to a consortium of nine laboratories, are working on an ambitious project called 'New Millennium India Technology Leadership Initiative' ( NMITLI), to develop a viable and scalable process
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
New US Special Relationship with India Is Set to Benefit Advanced Biofuels Technology Companies in Both Nations
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) ...The US president’s visits to four key Asian democracies were scheduled long in advance to coincide with the G20 Summit in Korea and boost US sales of technology and equipment in Asia. Deals worth $10 billion in
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels from the Bottom Up
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest-Asia) “Why wait for top-down solutions? Providing energy in a bottom-up way instead has a lot to recommend it. There is no need to wait for politicians or utilities to act. The technology is is rapidly falling
November 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Fifteen-Year Plan for Jatropha Plantation in Arid Districts
(Times of India) Beginning later this month, the jatropha crop will be planted across 30,000 acres in the arid districts of Bankura, Birbhum, West Midnapore and Purulia over the next 15 years. Around 10 lakh saplings will be transplanted this
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Journal of Peasant Studies Publishes Perspectives on New Agrarian Relations Related to Biofuels
(Journal of Peasant Studies) In this collection we ask a number of questions emerging out of the new agrarian political economy created by the ‘biofuel complex’. Together the papers offer perspectives from political economy, political sociology and political ecology, and
September 28, 2010 Read Full Article
Boardroom Mayhem at D1 Oils as CEO Steps Down
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) ...“If there were a medal for valor in biofuels it would certainly go to the board of D1 Oils, which has now had to repel its third take-over attempt by investors intent on abandoning the
September 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Magor Promoting Jatropha Plantations in NE
(The Assam Tribune) The D1 Williamson Magor Bio Fuel Ltd has developed jatropha plantation over 51,000 hectares of land and the plantation carried out by the company in 2007 has started yielding sub-commercial crops ... The yield of the plantation
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Compelling Case of Pongamia Biodiesel
by Sreenivas Ghatty (Commodity Online) ...Pongamia, a plant producing non-edible oilseeds, has the potential to become one of the cheapest feedstocks that can be produced in most of the tropical and sub tropical regions of the world. It can tolerate
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Digest Special Report on India: Indian Biofuels Shining
by Joelle Dent (Biomass Digest Asia) ...On the science and technology front it has an excellent technical education system in the IITs and access to the 39 advanced research laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which serves
June 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Soon, Green Fuel for Indian Cars?
(Times of India) In a major eco-friendly step towards renewable energy generation in India, seaweed sourced ethanol (ethyl alcohol), a biofuel additive in transport fuel, has been used to run a car for the first time. Central Salt and Marine
June 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Project Jatropha
(Environmental Protection Agency) President's Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) Winner: Adarsha Shivakumar, Apoorva Rangan, and Callie Roberts Pleasant Hill and Martinez, California - The Project Jatropha Team promotes the cultivation of Jatropha curcas, a perennial shrub with oil-rich seeds, as an ecologically
May 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Lack of Raw Material, Govt Pricing Dash Biofuel dreams
(The Business Standard) The biofuel industry is finding it tough to remain in business, with both government pricing and raw material availability working against them. ...Senior officials of the National Oilseeds and Development Board (NOVOD) said 76 institutions across the country
April 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Microbe to Make Bio-Degradable Plastic Discovered
by Vikas Bhargava/Ahmedabad (Outlook India) In a breakthrough, Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) has discovered microbe from Indian waters to manufacture bio-degradable plastic using a by product of Jatropha plant. "We have sucessfully made bio-degradable plastic from
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Honeywell's UOP and Indian Oil Corp. to Collaborate on Biofuels Project in India
Companies would evaluate non-food Indian feedstocks for the production of green diesel and green jet fuels as well as the development of renewable power applications from biomass waste. UOP, a Honeywell company, announced March 31, 2010, that it signed a memorandum
April 06, 2010 Read Full Article
GM Partners with U.S. Department of Energy to Develop Jatropha-to-Biodiesel Project in India
General Motors Co. announced on March 30, 2010, a five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help develop the potential of the jatropha plant as a sustainable biofuel energy crop. Traditionally considered a weed, jatropha plants produce
April 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Shapoorji, Ethiopia Ink 50,000ha Land Deal
by Shutapa Paul (liveMint.com, Wall Street Journal) The 140-year old construction firm, Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Ltd, signed an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to take on lease up to 50,000ha of land to cultivate pongamia pinnata—a feedstock for
March 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Daimler Committed to Jatropha Biodiesel
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted. The company is supporting several village communities in
March 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel-Averse State Oil companies Get Tough Love in the Indian Government’s 2010-11 Budget
Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) In India, the state oil companies were discovered to have systematically defied the government’s biofuel blending mandates with the help of paid insiders in the oil ministry. As a result the government not only lost face but
March 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Daimler Committed to Jatropha Biodiesel
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted. The company is supporting several village communities
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Sweet Sorghum to Ethanol: Technology, Plant & Machinery
PRAJ, through its Development Center (Matrix- the Innovation Center), conducted studies and evaluated options for optimizing sweet sorghum based alcohol production. This effort was conducted in two phases: · Agricultural trials and studies for evaluating suitability, technical feasibility and commercial viability
February 10, 2010 Read Full Article
IIT Kharagpur Launches ‘PK Sinha Center for BioEnergy’
The ‘PK Sinha Center for BioEnergy’ was launched at the hands of the Founder Dr. Prabhakant Sinha, Founder and Co-Chairman, ZS Associates and IIT Kharagpur alumnus in the presence Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Honorable Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy
February 10, 2010 Read Full Article
East or West, Home is the Best
by Nidhi Nath Srinivas (The Economic Times) Indian biodiesel companies always wanted to be players in the global green fuel market. Most are 100% export units. But a near-death experience over the last one year has now made the sector
February 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Fund Sanctioned for Research on Biodiesel Production
(The Hindu) The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has sanctioned Rs. 13.33 lakh to the Department of Botany, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women here, to undertake research on biodiesel production in a cost-effective method from karanja oil
February 01, 2010 Read Full Article
India’s PM Makes National Biofuels Mandate Obligatory for All State-Owned Oil Marketing Companies, Will Chase Non-Compliance
by Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) ...Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that the National Biofuels Mandate will be obligatory for all government-owned oil marketing companies, and warned that the Central Government will prosecute all noncompliance. ...Earlier this week environmental activist Subhash Dutta
February 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Green Fuel Plea in Indian High Court
(The Telegraph) Environment activist Subhash Dutta moved the high court on Monday seeking the promotion of bio-diesel and withdrawal of a petroleum ministry circular barring the use of the fuel in vehicles. Bio-diesel is an eco-friendly fuel alternative for diesel engines. The
February 01, 2010 Read Full Article
India Emerges as a Global Auto Hub, Welcomes New Biofuel Mandate, Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Targets
Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest) The global auto industry converged on Deli this week for what is now the world’s second largest auto show. ...With so many imported cars now in the country, consumers demanding cleaner and more fuel efficient cars,
January 11, 2010 Read Full Article
India’s 20 Percent Biofuels Mandate is Back: Biofuels Digest Special Report
Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest) Like Old Saint Nick, the new incarnation of India’s 20% biofuels mandate arrived in Delhi on Christmas Eve, bringing tidings of great joy to those inside and many outside the industry, including the announcement of a national
January 04, 2010 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
PetroAlgae to Partner with India’s Largest Energy Company to
PetroAlgae Inc. announced that its operating subsidiary has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enter into an agreement to license the Company’s proprietary micro-crop technology to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for its future large-scale production of renewable fuels.Under
November 04, 2009 Read Full Article
Indian States Fast-Track Jatropha 2.0, a Special Biofuels Digest Report
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest) Despite the Indian Government’s official go-slow policy on Jatropha, several Indian states are now planting the crop in a big way. These are not the old style monoculture plantations that led to the central government’s
October 14, 2009 Read Full Article
Potential for Sweet Sorghum Ethanol is Very Sweet, Indeed
by Barney DuBois (BioBasedNews.com) ... Sorghum – and particularly sweet sorghum – seems finally prepared to emerge from behind the dense biomass shadows it casts with its giant 15-foot stalks! Sweet sorghum – a resilient grass that can be grown
August 20, 2009 Read Full Article
Biofuels Digest Provides Summary of India's Biofuels Use
Joelle Brink special correspondent for Biofuels Digest provides a summary of the use of biofuels and biofuels technologies in India (and Indian technology use in the US) as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to visit. READ MORE and MORE
July 17, 2009 Read Full Article
Syngenta Introduces Tropical Sugar Beet for Food and Biofuels
Syngenta has introduced sugar beet in India for cultivation in tropical climatic conditions. Tropical sugar beet brings significant agronomic, environmental and output advantages to Indian farming and the Indian economy. The beet delivers similar output yields to sugar cane and
August 28, 2007 Read Full Article
Biogas from Human Waste
(Consortium on RuralTechnology) Biogas plants have been accepted by now in the country~as a device for improving the quality of the life of the people. They help in recycling of the cattie wastes and produce both fuel and manure from