by Alex Lawler (Reuters)  Oil will soon cost $100 per barrel due to supply disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump, Iran’s OPEC Governor told Reuters on Thursday, as he warned expectations that Saudi Arabia and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) UPM is going through a transformation to ensure sustainable value creation in the long term. The aim is to improve profitability, generate growth and increase the value of the company’s business …

(Russian Direct Investment Fund/4-Traders)  The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and JBICIG Partners (JBICIG, a subsidiary of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)) as part of the Russia-Japan Investment Fund (RJIF, launched by RDIF and …

(Transparency International Secretariat)  The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is at risk of unresolved conflicts of interest due to shortcomings in its governance, according to preliminary key findings of a new study by Transparency International.
Private shipping-industry concerns could have …

by Jeff Brady (National Public Radio)  The United States oil business is booming and the country could soon be the largest crude oil producer in the world. Despite this record-breaking production, climate change activists campaigning to …

by David Ignatius (The Washington Post) … So how can the United States and its closest allies alter (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s behavior, if they’re truly serious about holding Russia to account? The answer, say …

by Zainab Calcuttawala (OilPrice.com)  There will be an OPEC deal extension—no matter the public tussling between opposing forces in the industry cartel—if the world’s largest oil producers are really determined to end the supply glut.
A failure …

(Skoltech)  … Scientists from Skoltech and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Joint Institute for High Temperatures have proposed converting food waste into biofuel via hydrothermal liquefaction – a thermal depolymerization process used to turn wet biomass …

by Thin Lei Win (Reuters)  Improving soil health in farmlands could capture extra carbon equivalent to the planet-warming emissions generated by the transport sector, one of the world’s most polluting industries, experts said Tuesday.
Soil naturally absorbs …

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest)  … Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, the chopping continues and there are literally tons of wood waste left behind that doesn’t get used up, but …

(Phys.Org/ Lomonosov Moscow State University)  Members of the Faculty of Biology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University have proved that under Nordic conditions, wastewater could be treated with the help of microalgae, while algal biomass is …

(Phys.Org/Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology)  Scientists have used high-resolution mass spectrometry to determine the composition of a biofuel obtained from the microalgae Spirulina platensis. The researchers studied two biofuel fractions obtained using a special …

by Penney Kome (rabble.ca)  …   Almost everyone is targeting fossil fuel consumption and, by extension, Big Oil. Most of us see the oil business as gas stations, or as mammoth corporations, or as roughnecks wrestling with …

(Phys.Org/Tomsk Polytechnic University)  Gold nanoparticles serve as catalysts for obtaining valuable chemical products based on glycerol. Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University and their international colleagues are developing gold catalysts to recycle one of the main …

by P.J. Huffstutter and Karl Plume (Reuters)  … World stockpiles of corn and wheat are at record highs. From Iowa to China, years of bumper crops and low prices have overwhelmed storage capacity for basic foodstuffs.
Global …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  ETB Catalytic Technologies has developed a one-step process for producing butadiene from ethanol – and attracted investment in March 2016 from Zavkom Group and grant funding from Skolkovo for Pilot …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Belgium, following on from the November release of their joint publication “The Black Book of Bioenergy”, Birdlife Europe and Central Asia has again teamed with Transport & Environment on …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  News of high-level appointments have been streaming out of Trump Tower all this week and last, and two trends are already clear: it’s a group mostly out of the business …

by Rick Uldricks and Hudson Councilman Casey Weinstein (Twinsburg Patch) In truth, when it comes to energy security, there is good news to be found, but not at the bottom of a well.  —  Fossil fuel boosters …

by Retired Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton (The Hill/VoteVets.org)  Ninety-seven percent America’s motor fuel is blended with homegrown ethanol. From an energy security perspective, this is major progress that should be celebrated and encouraged.
Energy is not …

by Kevin G. Hall (McClatchyDC)  Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief once opened doors at home and abroad for an alternative energy firm whose investors include a Vladimir Putin-supported Russian company.
These ties were highlighted last week when …

(Sandia National Laboratories)  A wide-ranging analysis of water vulnerability across the Pacific — including the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — has identified hundreds of locations where energy production depends upon scarce water supplies.
The Sandia …

by Eugene Gerden (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Impending tax abolishment to provide the impetus for the development of Russian ethanol industry.  —  Plans to lift a hefty excise tax on fuel ethanol by the Russian government are …

by Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine)  Neste announced plans to begin selling 100 percent renewable diesel at select stations in Finland come January. The company says the product launch is one way it plans to participate …

(GreenAir Online)  ICAO’s 36-State governing Council has released final draft text of a Resolution to be put before the UN agency’s triennial Assembly later this month on a global market-based measure (GMBM) aimed at keeping …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  A report recently filed with the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network provides an overview of the European Union’s biofuel market, including data on wood pellets and biogas.
Regarding …

by Zoltan Kish (Lee Enterprises/Biofuels Digest)  … The primary challenge of clean energy production is the heterogeneous nature of waste and biomass, which creates a widely varying chemical constituency of the energy products generated from these processes. …

by Chris Soules (The Courier)  …  The RFS is one law nearly every farmer knows. It requires oil companies to offer consumers clean, renewable choices at the gasoline pump, including blends of homegrown ethanol produced …

By Ed Hubbard (Renewable Fuels Association)  …  At APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum), I found a delegation of countries that weren’t just committed to biofuels, but eager about the future and promise they held for …

(Office of the United States Trade Representative)  Obama Administration unveils list of the world’s most significant challenges facing American intellectual property rights alongside bipartisan members of Congress and business community leaders  —  On the heels …

(U.S. Grains Council)  The growing interest for ethanol in the Asia-Pacific region is driven in part by ever-growing environmental concerns, especially those related to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and deteriorating air quality, the direct results …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Russia, ETB Catalytic Technologies has received $0.6 million from ZAVKOM and Skolkovo Fund as a series A investment to build a pilot plant for the production of 1,3-butadiene from …

by Angela Charlton (Associated Press/Washington Post)  Monaco’s government says it’s investigating how an alleged vast oil corruption scandal involving a Monaco-based company long went unnoticed, even though the principality has opened up its financial sector …

by Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Peder Holk Nielsen (Novozymes)  Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Novozymes’ CEO take steps to highlight Europe’s problematic addiction to oil – and what can be done …

For Immediate Release February 12, 2016—Frederick, MD Advanced Biofuels USA correspondent Robert E. Kozak analyses the potential for a reinvigorated US shale oil/gas industry with and without government subsidies; and compares it to the potential for near-term …

by Ewa Krukowska (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World)  European Union governments and companies would do better increasing production of renewables, such as biofuels, than counting on a natural-gas pipeline from Russia to ensure energy security, former NATO …

Efforts to promote a sustainable use of natural resources are not a waste of money, but rather an investment capable of providing other eco­nomic benefits in the medium term. If we look at the larger …

(Biofuels International)  Egregor Biotech and Evolution Group is planning to construct a bioethanol plant in the forest-rich Komi Republic in Northern Russia.
The plant would process 400,000 tpy of unusable timber and sawmill residues into 100,000 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  “We are a boutique technical consulting and service firm to the alternative energy and resources industry,” said the VerdeNero manifesto, adding: “We provide services in technology transfer, system analysis and integration. We operate …

(The Sun)  Mathieu Flamini has kept a big secret from family, friends and team-mates for SEVEN years.  But today in an exclusive SunSport interview the Arsenal ace reveals that, along with a close pal, he …

(Hamrick Engineering/Your Oil and Gas News)  Hamrick Engineering is pleased to announce the granting of a broad patent for extracting sugars and nanocellulose from lignocellulosic biomass by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
“This ground-breaking …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The Digest looks at security and energy security —  …  This week, the head of Russian state intelligence service, Alexander Bortnikov,warned of a potential “invasion of Central Asia”by Taliban or …

by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Conventional wisdom about declining oil prices, mostly originating from US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA), says the fall of oil prices over the past fifteen months is …

by Reed Landberg (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World)  If the world seeks to lower carbon emissions, why is support for fossil fuels so strong? —   As world leaders converge on New York for a United Nations gathering …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It’s not just fish meal, it’s happy meal — for investors, we hear. As Calysta pivots towards methane-to-protein and supersizes its business plan, we visit with CEO Alan Shaw to …

by Arthur Neslen (The Guardian)  Major UNFCCC carbon trading scheme hit by serious corruption allegations involving organised crime in Russia and Ukraine — A key carbon offsetting scheme was so open to abuse that three quarters …

(Platts)  The UK diesel specification will include a new limit for filter blocking tendency from November following a series of car engine breakdowns in northern England and Scotland in the past two winters, market sources …

by Bill Scanlon (National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Renewable Energy World)   Scientists at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed an enzyme that could change the economics of biofuel conversion by converting biomass to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bunnies, liposuction fat, Prince Charles’ leftover wine, day-old whale, the human poo bus, fire ants dipped in hexane, old beer, raging fireballs, vibrating blobs, dope, and even the New Orleans …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Main areas of activity:waste minimization programs for industrial enterprises planning and implementation,MSW flows,incl. landfills, analytical description and management programs, pyrolysis, gasification and hydrothermal liquefaction of waste and not usable biomass …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  On Oct. 24, the European Council issued a statement announcing it has agreed on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the European Union. The council has endorsed a …

by Richard Weiner  (Fredrikson & Byron/Biodiesel Magazine)  The Council of the European Union has recently enacted regulations that require the member states of the European Union to impose sanctions against Russian individuals and companies in response …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … With more than 65 years of experience in automotive and fuels research and development, SwRI is uniquely positioned as an international expert in the research, development and testing of renewable …

The Black Sea region has seen significant investment and development undertaken in the agriculture sector – with Russia and Ukraine driving huge growth in export volumes, primarily of wheat and corn. Looking beyond the region, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …  SkyNRG is undertaking its first major feedstock project in South Africa, featuring a nicotine-free energy tobacco crop that’s developed by Sunchem under the name of Solaris.
Which is an excellent …

by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post)  About 16 months ago, a Florida-based biofuel company called Algenol noticed that its Internet service was slowing down. In checking that out, Jack Voth, Algenol’s information technology chief, stumbled …

by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) BP’s  63rd annual  Statistical Review of World Energy was recently released. Some key findings.
Oil Prices Stay Above $100/Barrel for Third Year

In the face of these disruptions and heightened risks …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Brazil, Russia, India and China — and throw in South Africa for a complete BRICSA set.  The vaunted new economic engines for the 21st century — and, lately, home to a …

(Biofuels International)  An agreement has been made by aircraft manufacturer Airbus and RT-Biotechprom, a division of technology and construction company Rostec, to make aircraft biofuel from renewable sources in Russia.  READ MORE

by Carl Zulauf and Nick Rettig (Ohio State University/FarmDocDaily) … Corn processed into alcohol for fuel was not a factor in the 1970 period of farm prosperity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) data series on …

(EurActiv)

Leaders of the EU and their partners in the G8 nations are under mounting pressure to reconsider their support for biofuel targets amid concern that plant oil production competes with food output in poor countries.

Britain, …

By Paul Brown (Climate News Network/ClimateCentral.org)  Fossil fuel subsidies provided by both rich and poor countries to keep their citizens happy are holding back the world economy, accelerating climate change and damaging the health of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …This past week in Rotterdam, I ran into algae biofuels’ very own “Dr. No”, John Benemann — known for his succinct and characteristic analysis of new ventures aimed at making …

(Digital  Journal)  Korsair Holdings AG (BERLIN: NOM) has signed a sales and marketing license agreement for a Russian waste to energy technology. The agreement guarantees to Korsair exclusivity for the territory of the Balkan States. …

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 Julia Whitty (The Atlantic/Mother Jones)  …To get to the Nimitz, 100 miles off Honolulu, our turboprop is flying a 50-50 blend of biofuel and standard JP-5 shipboard aviation fuel. The biofuel is made from algae …

by Ed Hamrick (Biofuels Digest/Greenworld Fuels)  … There are more than two billion tons of MSW produced worldwide every year, with more than 250 million tons per year produced in the USA every year. Disposal of …

(MSN Money/PR NewsWire)  During the first Moscow International Forum for Innovative Development Open Innovations, the State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs’ (Vnesheconombank), venture capital firm Bright Capital Management, and Renmatix, the leading …

by Matthew Aylott (National Non-Food Crops Centre)   NNFCC gives its top ten of Britain’s most progressive biofuel and biochemical companies.
TMO Renewables …
Green Biologics …
British Airways …
Ensus …
BP …
Johnson Matthey …
Croda …
INEOS Bio …
Harvest Energy …
Greenergy … …

by Michael Gubisch (FlightGlobal/Flight International)  …Between 15 July and 27 December 2011, Lufthansa deployed a newly delivered Airbus A321 (registration D-AIDG) on the route between Hamburg and Frankfurt, with one of the two International Aero …

(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 S. Coward (Caribbean Press Releases)  Jamaica could soon benefit from significant new investment in a number of sectors, coming out of the just concluded Jamaica Investment Forum.
A number of the investors, who attended the …

(MarketWatch)  Mario Garnero, Chairman of Brasilinvest, Brazil’s pioneer merchant bank, stated that BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) can no longer be simply described as ‘Emerging Markets’. Their economic, political and energy status make …

(Jakarta Post)   PT INKUD Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday with Malaysian biotechnology firm Lestari Pasifik Berhad to establish a joint venture aiming to set up 616 bio-refinery factories to process …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  …We imagine “food vs fuel” in terms of grain shortages, but where food and fuel actually collide is on the global sugar markets. “While sugar is widely available in …

by Eugene Gerden (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Russia plans to tap into bountiful resources to expand ethanol production
The Russian government is considering the implementation of a state program to develop a biofuel and ethanol industry in …

(Recycling Portal)  A Russian investment fund, Republic of Tatarstan and Wermuth Asset Management plan, is to set up a 200 million euro clean technology fund that aims to help the heavy oil producing region to …

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 …

(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 …

(PR Newswire)  Energy Efficiency Innovation and Environmental Impact Advances Prized
The Global Energy Prize is now accepting nominations for its $1 million 2011 award. The globally recognised prize, which has thus far been awarded to three prominent …

(Ria Novosti)  Russia may start using biofuel made from sawdust to power aircraft, Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov said on Tuesday.
“We have a country full of forests and plenty of sawdust; why not make biofuel from …

(The Moscow Times)  Russian Technologies will begin construction of the country’s first biofuel factory next spring, the state corporation’s chief, Sergei Chemezov, said Monday.
The factory — to be located in the Irkutsk region — will turn …

(RiaNovosti)  The European market is attractive for Russia due to its proximity and high prices. “Russia could become a supplier of oilseeds, oil, biodiesel and ethanol as alternative fuel, cattle and goat meat, game and …