by Harish Damodaran (The Hindu Business Line) Will crude oil at above $ 100-a-barrel prompt more cane diversion to ethanol, causing further spike in world sugar prices? Unlikely, says Mr Narendra Murkumbi, Managing Director of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd (SRSL), which
sugarcane
Back TO HOMEMaize Farmers Lobby to Supply Biofuel Industry
by Stephanie Nieuwoudt (Interpress Service News Agency) South African maize farmers are pushing hard to change a government decision to exclude their crops as feedstock for bioethanol, in view of food security concerns. Shortly after the government unveiled its biofuel strategy last
March 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Shell, Brazil's Cosan Form $12 Billion Ethanol Unit
(Google/AFP) Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell and Brazilian sugar-production group Cosan said Monday they were forming one of the biggest joint ethanol fuel ventures in the world, with an estimated market value of $12 billion. The new entity, to be called Raizen, will
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazilian Ethanol Is the Best Hope for Replacing Oil, Says BP's Bob Dudley
by Robin Yapp (The Telegraph) Ethanol derived from Brazilian sugar-cane offers the best hope of replacing oil as the world's main source of fuel when it runs out, according to Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive. He said Brazilian ethanol is the "best
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Katter Urges Union to Save Sugar Industry
(The Age) Federal independent MP Bob Katter has urged the Australian Workers' Union to help save Queensland's sugar industry from ruin by campaigning for wider ethanol use. "At this point of time in Queensland, the sugar industry is a bigger employer
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Burdekin Council Approves $200m Ethanol Plant
by Natalie Poyhonen (ABC News) The Burdekin Shire Council has given the final approval for the creation of a $200 million ethanol plant at Mona Park, near Home Hill in north Queensland. The Austcane Energy project will produce ethanol and co-generated
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Farmers, Militants Protest Bioethanol Project in Isabela
by Villamor Visaya Jr. (Inquirer Northern Luzon) Some 400 farmers and activists on Tuesday staged a protest march to oppose the construction of a bioethanol plant here, a project that is supported by the provincial government. Diony Yadao, leader of the farmers'
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Shell, Codexis to Roll Out Cellulose Technology for Biofuel
by Eduard Gismatullin (Bloomberg) Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, and Codexis Inc. will roll out technology this year to make biofuels from wheat straw and sugar-cane bagasse, the cellulose-rich waste from cane processing. Shell and Codexis have been researching enzymes to
February 07, 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
Regents Give LSU AgCenter 5-year Extension on Biofuels Institute
(Louisiana State University) The LSU AgCenter has received a five-year extension from the Louisiana Board of Regents to continue with the establishment of the Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing. “We appreciate the vote of confidence,” said John Russin, LSU AgCenter interim
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Shell Exits Algae as It Commences “Year of Choices”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Last week [after previously exiting their investment in Choren, a Fischer-Tropsch technology based in Germany] Shell announced that it will will exit its shareholding in Cellana, a joint venture between Shell and HR Biopetroleum. Today,
January 31, 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
Chromatin’s Yield Machine: Is Instant Gene-Stacking a Game-Changer for Energy Crops?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Illinois, Chromatin announced the successful first demonstration that genes can be assembled, stacked, and expressed in sugarcane using the company’s mini-chromosome technology. Now, what exactly is a gene stack and why should I care? Most
January 19, 2011 Read Full Article
AfDB Group Approves Euros 65 Million to Finance Markala Sugar Project in Mali
(AllAfrica.com) The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on Monday, 6 December 2010 in Tunis, a €30-million senior private sector loan and a €35 million loan from the public sector window to finance the Markala Sugar project
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Toyota's DNA Analysis Tech to Boost Sugar-Cane Biofuel Output
(Japan Today) Toyota Motor Corp said Monday the company has developed a technology to analyze the DNA of plants to shorten the time needed to improve varieties of sugar cane with an eye to boosting bioethanol production. The technology—developed with the National
December 09, 2010 Read Full Article
The Lands of Sun and Rain: Biofuels Turns to Brazil for Sugar, Markets, Models
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...High-tech companies such as Amyris, Solazyme, LS9, KL Energy, and many others have been moving aggressively to establish partnerships that will allow them to access Brazil’s low-cost, at-scale sugars. Are the lands of sun and rain
December 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazil Needs $50 Billion To Meet Ethanol Demand By 2015-16
by Tony Danby (NASDAQ) Brazil's ethanol sector needs around $50 billion of new investments by 2015-16 to meet the country's surging demand for the alternative fuel, according to the president of local ethanol giant ETH Bioenergia. Brazil's consumption of ethanol is expected
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
US to Develop Sugarcane Ethanol Industry
(ITS International) The first major sugarcane ethanol refinery in the continental United States will be built in the Imperial Valley of California, said to be one of the best locations for growing sugarcane in the world. The ethanol will meet California’s
November 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Cane Ethanol Leader Brazil Considers Using Corn
by Peter Murphy (Reuters) Sugar cane ethanol pioneer Brazil, which touts the efficiency and environmental qualities of its biofuel, could soon begin making it from less-efficient corn to soak up excess grains in remote areas. The combined industry and governmental steering committee
October 28, 2010 Read Full Article
REVIVAL! Hawai’i Bi-O Style: Elite Squad of Scientists Aim to Boost Hawaii via Bioenergy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Hawaii is a code word meaning “paradise” not only to sun-starved tourists, but to bioenergy developers. It has all the hallmarks of the “perfect market”. 1. A state that generates no energy from fossil fuels and
October 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Japanese Invests in $120-M Ethanol Plant in Isabela
by Melody M. Aguiba (Manila Bulletin Publishing) The biggest in the Philippines tochu Corp. of Japan is investing $120 million in an ethanol plant in San Mariano, Isabela, which is expected to become the Philippines’ biggest and the only integrated biofuel
October 11, 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
Swedish Biofuels Do Have Major Benefits for the Climate
(Alpha Galileo) For the first time, researchers have taken an overall look at Swedish biofuels and analysed what impact they have on the environment, both in relation to one another and to the fossil fuel alternatives petrol and diesel. The results
September 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Piper Jaffray Monthly Bio-Industrials Update: Energy Crop &
(Piper Jaffray) ...Energy crops are designed to use marginal land, or in the case of Brazil, extend the growing season. Sugarcane-ethanol facilities in Brazil typically run for 6-8 months due to the relatively long growing season of cane. Energy crops
September 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuel Battles
by Michael Stein (Maui Magazine) Advocates say biofuels could save big agriculture in the Islands, and reduce Hawaii’s unsustainable dependence on imported oil. Are we willing to pay the price? ...But over the past decade, Maui has lost Pioneer Mill sugar
September 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Zero Discharge Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Process Development
(PRNewsWire) AdvanceBio LLC, a Cincinnati-based advanced biofuel technology company, today announced the development of its next generation, sugar-based fuel ethanol process. The process is capable of utilizing sugars derived from sugar cane, sweet sorghum, sugar beet and other similar crops as feedstock
August 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Wyo. Plant Turns Sugar Cane Waste Into Biofuel
by Bob Moen (AP) Wyoming is a long way from places where sugar cane is grown, but a test plant in the northeast part of the state will soon be turning sugar cane waste into biofuel. KL Energy Corp., based in
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Gaddafi’s Son May Revive Triangle Ethanol in Zimbabwe
(Nehanda Radio) ...Zimbabwe Reporter said Al-Saadi Al-Gaddafi was negotiating with Zimbabwean officials on the feasibility of establishing an ethanol-powered fuel plant in the country's Masvingo Province. ...The sugar was previously produced by Triangle Limited... READ MORE
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Petrobras America and KL Energy Sign Joint Development Agreement to Optimize Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol Production From Sugarcane Bagasse
(Biofuels Journal) KL Energy Corporation is pleased to announce that Petrobras, through Petrobras America, has entered into a Joint Development Agreement with KL Energy Corporation ("KLE"), to jointly optimize KLE's proprietary cellulosic ethanol process technology for sugarcane bagasse feedstock ("Bagasse"). The latest
August 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Candidate for Ag Commissioner Talks Biofuels
by Bob Thaxton (The Gazette-Enterprise) Hank Gilbert, the Democrats’ nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner, discussed his proposed biofuels policy here Thursday during the next-to-last stop on a 13-city tour around the state. ...“Texas has the potential to become a major biofuels
August 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Sudan Secures Funds for New Sugar Factory
by Opheera McDoom (Reuters) Sudan has secured funding for a new 140,000 tonne sugar factory which will also produce 30 million litres of ethanol by November 2014, in the latest step to gear the African nation's sugar industry towards export. Executive Director
August 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Sugar Stakeholders Seek Palace Assistance
by James Konstantin Galvez (The Manila Times) Some 100 sugarcane industry stakeholders asked the support of the Department of Agriculture during a recent dialogue in providing the necessary equipment in the mechanization of sugarcane production for both sugar and ethanol.
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Gilbert Plan: Bring Jobs to Texas through Biofuels
by Jj Valesquez (Victoria Advocate) ...Hank Gilbert spoke on the steps of the Victoria County Courthouse, his cowboy hat shading him from the 95-degree heat, about his plan to make Texas a major biofuels producer. "What biofuels can do is add
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Better Sugar Cane Initiative Ltd. Application to the EU for Voluntary Scheme Recognition
(Better Sugar Cane Initiative, Ltd.) July was an historic month for the Better Sugar Cane Initiative. After three years of hard work involving literally dozens of people, we submitted our application to the EU for our certification system which includes our
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Fuelling Sugar Beet's Future
by Paul Spackman (CheckBiotech) ..."Ethanol production accounts for around 20% of cane harvested and 3% of beet and I'm cautiously optimistic those proportions will increase," (the International Sugar Organization's Peter Barron) said. ...While feed wheat rather than sugar beet is the
July 25, 2010 Read Full Article
$10m Biofuel Plant to Lead the Way
by Cait Bester (Daily Mercury) ...Queensland University of Technology’s Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant will be officially opened... Lead researcher and Queensland University of Technology professor, James Dale, said the purpose-built plant at Mackay Sugar’s Racecourse Mill would be the
July 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Brazilian Sugarcane Industry's 'Virtual Mill,' a Hit at Major Events, Now Also on the Web
(PR Newswire) It's about as close as you can get to a personal visit to a Brazilian sugarcane processing mill without actually being there, and it's now available on the Web. It's called the 'Virtual Mill,' an interactive multimedia tool created
July 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Company Says Biofuel Can Replace Off-Shore Oil
(Tampa Bay Online) Low carbon ethanol and renewable power produced from Florida grown sugar - biomass crops can help displace off-shore drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and contribute to energy independence, according to a press release distributed Friday. Highlands
June 14, 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
Louisiana State University AgCenter Announces New Sugarcane Variety
(Louisiana State University) Louisiana sugarcane farmers will have a new sugarcane variety this fall with the release of L 03-371 from the LSU AgCenter and others on May 5. Developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sugarcane Research Laboratory in
May 18, 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
Highlands County, FL, Still Waiting for Biofuels
by Gary Pinnell (Highlands Today) In April 2008, Congressman Tim Mahoney told county commissioners that Highlands was poised to become "the biofuels capital of America." They were expected to produce hundreds of jobs and millions in revenues. Two years have gone
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Syngenta Keen on Sugarcane Biotech Research in Brazil
(SugarcaneBlog.com) European biotech giant Syngenta has set up partnership with Brazil’s Instituto Agronomico (IAC) to increase development of sugarcane varieties, particularly for the production of ethanol. READ MORE and MORE
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
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
University of Queensland Institute Ignites Plans for Jet Biofuel
(Queensland Business Review) The University of Queensland (UQ) has entered into a new agreement with an American alternative energy company to turn Queensland sugar cane into jet biofuel. Researchers from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN) will work with
February 09, 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
Cuba’s Sugarcane Ethanol Potential: Cuba, Raul Castro, and the Return of King Sugar to the Island
by Nicholas Elledge (Council on Hemispheric Affairs) ... (W)ould Cuba benefit from, and does it possess the technological and infrastructural means and political will to expand and modernize its sugar and sugarcane ethanol industries to take advantage of the unique
January 04, 2010 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
Mozambique and Brazil Seek Partnerships in Biofuels
(AllAfrica) Mozambican Brazilian, and Southern African business people are meeting for two days in Maputo to look into investment opportunities for producing biofuels, particularly ethanol, from sugar cane in Mozambique. The meeting is organized by the Mozambican government's Investment Promotion Centre
November 30, 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
Scientific Data Supports GHG Reduction of Sugarcane Ethanol, Even Considering ILUC
Brazilian ethanol produced from sugarcane can help the United States meet its advanced renewable fuel targets, while helping reduce emissions. This is one of the conclusions presented by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
October 01, 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
Florida Sugar-Based Ethanol Company Projects 80 Percent Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions than Gasoline
Highlands EnviroFuels LLC has completed a life-cycle analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that demonstrates that the company’s planned sugar–based ethanol process will result in 80 percent lower GHG emissions than the equivalent petroleum-based gasoline. The detailed study, completed by Life
September 09, 2009 Read Full Article
Vietnam Produces First Batch of Ethanol
(ChinaView.cn) Vietnam successfully produced the country's first batch of 2,000 tons of ethanol, a bio-fuel for motor vehicles, local newspaper the People reported Friday. The fuel is made from sugar cane and cassava. ...The plant is expected to turn out 100,000
September 08, 2009 Read Full Article
Sugar Cane to Return to Angola in Biofuel Move
by Louise Redvers (AFP) Angola will begin planting sugar cane for the first time in more than 30 years this month as the oil-rich country takes its first step toward biofuels. A 30,000 hectare (74,000-acre) site in Malanje province, hundreds
September 03, 2009 Read Full Article
Picking Biofuel Starters: Government Tops Off the Tank
by Simon Grose (tcetoday news) Algae, wood and sugarcane shared the honours in the bidding for funding through the Australian government’s Second generation Biofuels research and development program. Announcing matching grants totaling A$14.4m ($12.1m) across seven projects, resource minister Martin Ferguson
August 14, 2009 Read Full Article
Solazyme Awarded California Energy Commission Grant to Develop Clean Fuel from Local Cellulosic Feedstocks
Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil production company and algal biotechnology company, was awarded a $789,697 Biosynthetic Transportation Fuel Production grant from the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program. ... The PIER Program Opportunity Notice (PON) announced that
August 11, 2009 Read Full Article
Brazil Seeks Decent Working Conditions for Sugarcane Cutters
The Brazilian government announced an accord with businessmen in the sugar industry to provide decent working conditions for the nation’s sugarcane cutters following criticism leveled by various human-rights organizations. “This will help tone down criticism of Brazilian ethanol,” President Luiz Inacio
July 01, 2009 Read Full Article
Chromatin Licenses Gene Stacking Technology for Sugar Cane to Syngenta
Chromatin Inc. announced today that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide research and commercial license agreement with Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. for Chromatin's proprietary gene stacking technology in sugar cane. Chromatin has developed a novel approach to gene stacking, using the
July 01, 2009 Read Full Article
Amyris Opens Renewable Products Demonstration Facility in Brazil
Amyris Brasil Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Ltda., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., today announced the opening of the Amyris Renewable Products Demonstration Facility in Campinas. The facility, located in the midst of the sugar cane processing industry, secures
June 29, 2009 Read Full Article
Sugar Cane and Cassavas Feedstock for Vietnam Bioethanol Plant
An engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth around US$ 60 million for building a bio-ethanol plant was signed between the Petrolchemical and Bio Fuel Joint Stock Company (PVB) under the National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) and a joint
June 18, 2009 Read Full Article
Gold Star to Cultivate Five Million Acres of Land for Biofuels in Ghana
Gold Star Biofuels a subsidiary of Gold Star Farms Ltd., is cultivating five million acres of land in Ghana to plant jatropha for the production of biofuels for export. According to the firm it has secured commitment from farmers to
June 16, 2009 Read Full Article
US/India Cooperative Agreements for 2nd Generation Biofuel Production
Indian government-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is tying up with US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a pilot project to produce second generation biofuel. This biofuel — essentailly bio-ethanol — would be produced from cellulosic biomass or degradable agricultural waste
May 13, 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