(National.org)  New regulations for New Zealand’s fuel specifications will support the growth of lower-emission fuels that are better for people, the environment and cars, Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins announced today.
The Regulations set out …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use.
LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts …

(GreenAir Online)  A year after issuing a joint Request for Information (RFI) from parties interested in supporting the development and production of sustainable aviation fuel in the region, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia say …

by Lilly Vitorovich (The Australian)  Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand are hopeful aviation biofuel can be produced locally, in a bid to cut carbon emissions and fuel costs.
The airlines have spent the past year …

by Grant Bradley (New Zealand Herald) Z Energy hopes to get its biodiesel plant producing commercial fuel within the next two months after months of delays. The company had hoped to start supplying partners from the plant at …

(GreenAir Online)  Although sustainable alternative fuels are key to meeting the aviation sector’s long-term emissions goals, supportive government policies are required to bring these fuels to global deployment. This was a central theme of last …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use.
LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts …

by Grant Bradley (New Zealand Herald)  Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon says using biofuel in aircraft is a long-term bet as the industry struggles to find a sustainable alternative to traditional aviation fuel.
Speaking at …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the EU, the International Energy Agency has released its Bioenergy Countries’ Report, outlining the national renewable energy targets, total primary energy supply and contribution of bioenergy.  We’ve presented the information …

(AA Motoring/Driven)  Biodiesel offers motorists a choice  —  Like the cars we drive, fuels have evolved — to the point that it feels like we have more choice than before.
As car manufacturers strive to reduce …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  In New Zealand is an internationally significant collection of microalgae cultures known as the Cawthron Institute Culture Collection of Microalgae (CICCM). The CICCM was recently moved into a new home in Cawthron …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  Z Energy, a $26 million biodiesel processing facility in New Zealand, has begun the commissioning phase at its 5.3 MMgy plant in Wiri, Auckland. On Aug. 2, the company received …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  From Australia comes the news that the country’s former Federal Resources and Energy Minister, Martin Ferguson, is now the chairman of the advisory board for Byogy Renewables, the California-based alcohol-to-jet …

(Fonterra)  Fonterra has taken another step forward in its commitment to environmental sustainability, today launching its switch to new Z biodiesel – as a foundation customer for the ZBioD fuel. Fonterra and Z were joined …

by Ben Rosen (Christian Science Monitor)  Algae grows faster and produces higher energy yields than other plants, but is much more expensive to turn into fuel than traditional petroleum byproducts.   —  …   Airbus researchers …

by Kassidi Andres (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Mike Bryan is introducing Australia to a DDGS-based feed product made by a company headquartered in North Dakota, where his ethanol career began.   —  … Today, living on the …

(Infineum International Ltd./Biodiesel Magazine)  Infineum has revealed the initial results from its latest biennial global Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey, offering a unique update on the current trends in the industry across the global marketplace.
The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia formed a partnership to investigate options for locally produced aviation biofuel. The trans-Tasman alliance partners are issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 64 countries have targets or mandates – but how much where, and when, and what?  The bulk of mandates continue to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive specified …

by Valerie Richardson (The Washington Times)  A newly released international study finds that farming, not fracking, is the likely culprit behind rising global methane levels, undermining the Obama administration’s crackdown on methane from oil-and-gas production …

(Scoop Independent News/Air New Zealand)  Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia today announced a partnership to investigate options for locally produced aviation biofuel.  The trans-Tasman alliance partners are issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …  It’s Toy Story all over again. You remember Woody’s struggle to avoid being tossed onto the shelf when Buzz Lightyear arrives.  So it is with biotechnology. It takes years, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who mandates what in biofuels? 64 countries have targets or mandates — but how much where, and when, and what?
In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of biofuels mandates …

by Mathew Carr (BloombergBusiness)  Markets will help drive emission reductions under Paris deal;
Rules needed to ensure markets have environmental integrity —  Eighteen nations including the U.S., Japan and Germany will work together to develop international …

by Jamie Gray, Sophie Ryan (New Zealand Herald)  Z Energy says committing to using biofuel is one way people can contribute to the global effort to reduce climate change outlined in the Paris Agreement.
New Zealand …

(Scion)  A Scion initiative to understand the true potential of a biofuels future for New Zealand has attracted serious players from industry, government and sector interest groups plus the research community.
The project, called the New …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use.
LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts …

(PR Newswire/BCC Research)  This BCC Research report explores present and future strategies within the biofuel enzymes market, which includes amylase, cellulose, xylanase, lipase and other enzymes such as protease, lysomax, FermaSure, etc. Forecasts provided through …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Honeywell’s UOP has developed a renewable jet fuel processing technology, a renewable diesel process, as well as a joint venture, Envergent Technologies, that will market technologies and equipment for generating …

by Emily Smith (Daily Mercury)  NOTHING creates jobs like the resource industry.  It’s a widely held view in the Mackay region but Carl Morton is throwing it up for debate.  The national operations manager for …

by Katie Fletcher (Biomass Magazine)  IEA Bioenergy Task 39, a group of international experts working to commercialize sustainable transportation biofuels, recently released its latest newsletter, featuring an update on opportunities for biofuels in New Zealand.
Newsletter …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  No fossil fuel, no biomass, low carbon, no kidding. —  …  The top 10 new technologies.
Note: Some amazing technologies such as Industrial Microbes, Trelys, Kiverdi and Mango Materials fell outside the …

by Meagan Parrish (Manufacturing.net)  …It’s always a fun game to see what’s being used to make new fuels — so let’s play it, with a look at some of the coolest biofuel stories to hit the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Generally, Digest readers around the world fall into a third category, because they are NEMBEEists. That is, Never Employ Materials Badly, Even Energy. Digesterati generally favor higher-use cases.
The Unloved Coalition …

by Susan Strongman (New Zealand Herald)  In what is claimed to be a world first, from today Aucklanders can top up their cars with Brewtroleum.
Kiwis can now use a beer byproduct to fill their cars, with …

(AZO CleanTech)  Using switchgrass to produce biofuel is one way to decrease the United States’ dependence on oil, but growing it and making it profitable can be complicated.
Switchgrass is an excellent candidate for biofuel production. …

(Scoop Culture/DB Export)  Drink Beer And Save the World — Today (June 15, 2015), DB Export is announcing it is on a mission to harness the power of drinking beer to save the world. In a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Taiwan, China Steel Corporation announced formal Board approval of a $46M capital investment in a LanzaTech commercial ethanol facility. This follows the successful demonstration of the revolutionary carbon recycling …

by Krista Eastman (University of Wisconsin-Madison)  Scientists have demonstrated the potential for softwoods to process more easily into pulp and paper if engineered to incorporate a key feature of hardwoods. The finding, published in this week’s …

by Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times)  Invasive weeds choking the region’s waterways could be harvested and turned into valuable biofuel in an idea being floated by Waikato Regional Council.  The health of the river’s hydro-lakes has …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  To make fuel, chemicals, fiber, food more productively than ever before — it starts in the field with the New Agriculture.  Here’s what’s happening as Silicon Valley converges with Silicon …

by Jack Biddle    (The New Zealand Herald)  Blended fuel is fine in suitable cars.  … Ethanol blended biofuel was introduced by Gull in August 2007 amid controversy over its suitability for a high percentage of …

by Keith Campbell  (Engineering News)  On October 19, 2004, the world’s first exclusively biofuel powered production aircraft received its certification, allowing it to be flown operationally. That aircraft was (and is) the Neiva (now Embraer) …

by Adrien Taylor (3News)  Z Energy has started construction on a south Auckland plant to convert meat waste into biofuel.   The plant will produce 20 million litres of the fuel every year, but Z …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Who mandates what in biofuels? 64 countries have targets or mandates — but how much where, and when, and what?  In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The East is Green. Asia is confirmed as “the new Brazil” as project developers head en masse to the friendly receptions in Asian countries — based on energy diversification and …

(The New Zealand Herald)  A leading carbon recycling company has developed a way to turn CO2 emissions into essential omega-3 fatty acids – offering a sustainable alternative to feeding the world’s demand for fish oil.
Now …

(Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand)  Work by two recently completed Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programmes will pave the way for future efforts towards a potential biofuels industry in New Zealand from forestry residues and …

by Hamish Rutherford (Stuff Business Day)  Increased royalties from oil and gas would be used to create a profit-oriented Green Investment Bank under Green Party proposals.
Co-leader Russel Norman has unveiled plans for “an enduring, government-owned, …

(Biofuels International)  Z Energy has revealed plans to build a $21 million (€15 million) domestic biodiesel plant that will produce fuel from inedible tallow feedstock.
…
The Wellington-based company hopes to produce 20 million litres of sustainable …

by Michael Daly (Fairfax NZ News/The Nelson Mail)   Researchers at Lincoln University trying to boost the biofuel industry have found ways to lift yields of crops that can be turned into fuels, while reducing inputs. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of biofuels mandates and targets around the world, looking at the state of biofuels mandates in 62 countries.
The bulk of mandates …

(Sioux City Journal/Associated Press)  A New Zealand company plans to move its headquarters to Kearney and set up a production plant for its biomass resin product.
The plant will use distillers grains to produce a functional …

by Peter Hannam (The Age)  Whether it’s the use of organisms first found in the guts of rabbits in New Zealand or converting the mountains of rubbish disposed of by Londoners, airlines around the world are …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Global Clean Energy Holdings announced that it has acquired Sustainable Oils, a leader in Camelina genetics and production. The acquisition includes 100% ownership interest of Sustainable Oils and the …

by Nina Chestney (Reuters)  * U.S. cellulosic biofuel goals not reached
* Beta sees industry stepping up output by 2015
* New players could emerge from eastern Europe
Biofuels made from wood waste and sugarcane have languished well …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What is fibre fuel, how does it displace petroleum via supercritical technology, and what does the plant look like?
… For those less familiar with New Zealand’s energy brands, Z Energy …

by Michael Berry (The Press/Stuff.co.nz)  Solid Energy’s biofuel company has been sold to its management, two Christchurch men who are confident of making a profit with the business that stumped the state.
Biodiesel New Zealand has …

by Jason Krupp (EIN News)  Petrol retailer Z Energy says world oil prices could plunge by almost half in the next five years, as United States oil and gas production booms because of “fracking”.
Fracking is …

(Radio New Zealand News)  Service station chain Z Energy is expecting a new push to replace some of its fossil fuels with renewables will be a struggle.
The company wants to revive a biofuel project in …

by Grant Bradley (The New Zealand Herald)  …A major report out today reviews New Zealand’s green growth opportunities and outlines how the Government and the private sector can best complement each other in helping New …

(Radio New Zealand)  Z Energy says it may switch to ethanol-blended petrol, but this could cost the Government up to $180 million in lost revenue if other major players follow suit.
The New Zealand-owned fuel retailer …

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 …

by Mridul Chadha (Clean Technica)  Solar power plants and coconut biofuel-powered generators will be switched on in Tokelau next week as the three-atoll administered region of New Zealand gears up to become the ‘the world’s first truly renewable …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … United States   Concerns over the price impacts of a devastating US drought have led to call for a waiver in the US Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric targets. Proposed waivers have …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …While the economic growth in China has been drawing virtually all the headlines in recent years, the “Tiger” economies of Southeast and South Asia have been fast-growing for a long …

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)  … Regardless of its naming deficiencies, waste has been hot and getting hotter as a bioenergy feedstock because it solves three of the most pressing problems blocking capacity expansion.
1. The feedstocks …

(Radio New Zealand International)  Pacific nations which are most under threat from rising seas have vowed to abandon diesel and other dirty, expensive fuels and replace them with clean sources of energy.
Using coconut biofuel and …

(Radio New Zealand)  The researchers are putting 7000 Miscanthus giganteus plants on sites near Port Chalmers and Oturehua in central Otago to test its growth patterns and frost-resistance.
Lead botanist Janice Lord says the grass has great potential …

(Scoop/Solid Energy NZ)  The Department of Corrections has signed on to supply used cooking oil from all 18 of its prison kitchens across the country to Biodiesel New Zealand.
The deal will see about 5,000 litres …

by S. Heather Duncan (Macon Telegraph)  Although the company that purchased a defunct ethanol refinery in Soperton has some of the same financial backers as previous owners who lost the plant to foreclosure, leaders of …

by John Lewis (ODT)  Large colourful crops of oil-seed rape may become a more common sight on Otago farms in the future as the biofuel revolution gathers momentum.
A warm growing season has turned a 23ha …

(Bloomberg)  LanzaTech NZ Ltd., a closely held biofuels company backed by billionaire Vinod Khosla, will convert a U.S. cellulosic ethanol plant it bought from Range Fuels Inc. to produce chemicals from biomass.
The $5.1 million deal completed …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Australia, Licella had a big day, announcing the opening of its demonstration plant, a JV with Norsk Sko called Licella Fibre Fuels to commercialize the technology, and MOUs with …

by Michael J. Coren (FastCoExist.com)  It’s not a joke. Coconuts—and not much else—are plentiful on the islands of Tokelau. So they’re making good with what they have, and converting the entire region to solar and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Philippe Marlière, co-founder of Global Bioenergies and president of its Scientific Advisory Board, comments: “Carbon monoxide combines the attractive features of biochemical versatility and virtuous sourcing. Most importantly, carbon monoxide …

(Scoop/Christchurch City Council)  A wastewater treatment process that recycles biodiesel glycerol and produces ‘green’ renewable energy is now underway in Christchurch.
The process, which is the result of three years’ of testing and research between the …

Laurel Harmon (LanzaTech Inc.) LanzaTech, Inc., was founded in January 2005 by CSO Dr. Sean Simpson in New Zealand. Funds were mainly from New Zealand government US$ 10M, Khosla Ventures US$ 12M in …

by Shishir Prashant (Business Standard)  Ruchi Soya, an oilseed company, with a Rs 13,000-crore turnover, wants to replicate the experiment done by New Zealand — of using biodiesel as an alternative green fuel from Jatropha plants, …

By: Sarah Zielinski  (Smithsonian Magazine)   If one of the goals of growing plants for biofuel is to be kinder to the environment than you are by extracting oil from the earth, you wouldn’t want to plant anything …

by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine)  Aquaflow Bionomic Corp., a New Zealand-based algae technology developer, is taking a broad approach to algae-to-fuel development—one the company’s director Nick Gerritsen said may include nonalgae feedstocks. Aquaflow recently agreed …

by Bill Moore (Stuff.co.nz)  Nelson-based biofuel company Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation has announced a deal with a Texas-based renewable fuel company that paves the way for the building of a multimillion-dollar biofuels plant.
Its agreement is with …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  Months are passing but New Zealand ’s new government still won’t say whether or not it will incentivise biofuels production and new plant construction. Latest in this shoot-your-own-economy-in-the foot …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  In New Zealand, the government’s policy to promote biofuels is facing the axe on the same day that Gull New Zealand launches GullForcePro, its new E85 offering for Kiwi …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  Suddenly it’s scale-up time in Asia and everyone is scrambling for biofuels. Only a few years ago no one believed this could happen. Indian Railways was the only national-scale …

(GreenAirOnline)  A study to determine the feasibility of the Australian and New Zealand aviation sector using sustainable biofuels to meet industry carbon reduction targets concludes that a bio-derived jet fuel industry could decrease aviation emissions …

by Glenn Meyers (CleanTechnica)  There is now more good news on producing hydrogen, the clean-burning fuel that leaves behind water as an emission.
An international scientific team has announced creating hydrogen using ambient temperatures and pressure …

(CSIRO)   Establishing an economically and environmentally beneficial, ‘bio-derived’ Australian and New Zealand aviation fuels industry is a viable proposition, according to a report compiled by CSIRO in collaboration with the region’s major aviation industry …

(Scoop)  Biodiesel New Zealand is establishing a bulk distribution facility in Nelson to supply upper South Island customers with both its Biogold™ NZ20 renewable fuel blend and Biogold™ NZ100 pure biodiesel.
General Manager Andrew Simcock says …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Distillers grains as a component in plastics? You bet, if two Nebraska companies achieve their goals.
It will start by building a manufacturing facility, Laurel BioComposite LLC, in Laurel, Neb. …

(Radio New Zealand) /…Stuart Locke, who heads Waikato University’s Institute of Business Studies, says the need to free up land to produce ethanol will put pressure on farmers to house cattle and feed out supplements, …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  It was quite a shock to return from the exciting and very sustainability-oriented Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, DC to headlines like “Are our biofuel mandates fueling Islamic …

(TVNZ)  …ONE News has discovered the programme to subsidise the fledgling biofuels industry isn’t delivering, even though at least one oil company is trying to make it work.
The news comes on the day Gull launched …

by Simon Shepherd  (3News)  The first of a new bio-friendly fuel has gone on sale in New Zealand.
The new fuel, called E85, was launched in Hamilton this morning. The fuel is made up of 85 …

by Helen Murdoch (Nelson Mail)  …Biodiesel New Zealand general manager Andrew Simcock yesterday told 60 people at a Nelson seminar on the fuel that it was examining a proposal to deliver commercial-grade biodiesel into the …

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 …

by Stephen Foley (New Zealand Herald)  Soaring food inflation is the result of “immoral” policies in the United States which divert crops for use in the production of biofuels instead of food, according to the …

(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 …

(Scoop)  Independent fuel retailer Gull New Zealand has today reported record bio fuel sales volumes.
Over the past three years, Gull has expanded its biofuel range and its distribution and now sells bio fuels at 39 …

by Isaac Davison  (NZHerald.co.NZ)    …The truck, launched in Rodney yesterday by Auckland Mayor Len Brown, is the result of the first successful New Zealand project to turn landfill gas into a transport fuel. …

by Rose Stirling (Dargaville News)   Pine plantations in the Kaipara can be converted into biofuels as part of a nationwide proposal which will save the economy billions of dollars each year.
Scion, formerly the New Zealand Forest …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In New Zealand, LanzaTech announced that its cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with PNNL has been given final approval by the DOE.  The first phase of the CRADA work will …

(Business Day)  Fourteen Marlborough companies have joined forces to buy 2.5 million litres of biodiesel.
Marlborough Biodiesel User Group’s co-ordinator, Kevin Parker of Blenheim, said that by October, the wine, aquaculture and transport industry operators who had …

(New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment)  The purpose of this report is to take a fresh look at biofuels – to think strategically about how they might lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and thus …

by  Grant Bradley  (New Zealand Herald)  The Government is boosting support for the growing number of biofuel makers by extending its subsidy scheme to 100 per cent pure biodiesel.
Under the present criteria, to qualify for a …

by Nina Fowler (National Business Review)   Queenstown tourism operators are scrambling to establish a viable local biofuel industry before government assistance expires.
The Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium’s pilot scheme has been the beneficiary of a two-year government …

(NZHerald)  New Zealand’s first biodiesel station has opened in Queenstown.

The Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium will supply B20 blended biodiesel — 20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent standard diesel — to commercial vehicles.
The consortium, …

New Zealand’s National Instititue of Water and Atmospheric Research’s mission is to conduct leading environmental science to enable the sustainable management of natural resources for New Zealand and the planet.
In order to produce biofuels cost-effectively …

(The National Business Review)  A Green Party bill that sets up a standards regime for biofuels sold in New Zealand passed its first reading in Parliament tonight with the Government’s support.  Jeanette Fitzsimons drafted the …

A bill introduced in the New Zealand Parliament re-instates the legal framework for selling sustainable biofuels in New Zealand without violating World Trade Organization obligations. It does not distinguish between imported and locally produced biofuel, but requires …