As expected, 2010 proved to be a pivotal year for the U.S. biodiesel industry. With a new federal requirement for use of a targeted level of biodiesel as well as the reinstatement of the federal biodiesel blenders’ tax credit through 2011 now in place, most of the industry should be able to turn its focus back to producing more of this economically beneficial fuel.

The soybean checkoff has been a driving force behind the biodiesel industry from its inception, culminating in 2008, when the industry produced nearly 700 million gallons. In that time, the biodiesel industry became a powerful economic engine. According to a report by consulting firm LECG, LLC, the biodiesel industry supported nearly 52,000 jobs in 2008. Leer más »

By Bryan Sims/With support from Invest Toronto, Energy Innovation Corp. has proposed to repurpose an 8,600 square-foot building into a biodiesel production facility with an initial annual output volume of 5 MMly (about 1.3 MMgy). Located in the downtown core in the port lands area, the future facility will be located on a site with existing ship, truck and rail transportation infrastructure that could be leveraged for feedstock sourcing and biodiesel marketing. Leer más »

SAO PAULO(MarketWatch) — Brazilian state run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, said late Friday that it acquired a 50% stake in the local biodiesel company Bioleo Industrial e Comercial, for 15.5 million Brazilian reals ($8.8 million). Leer más »

Santo Domingo. – The company Globasol signed an agreement on Monday with TSK-Ingemas, of the Spanish group Globalia, to build Dominican Republic’s first biodiesel  plant, at a cost of 40 million dollars.

The agreement includes the construction of a plant within 14 months in the province Azua (south) to use oil from native varieties of brush such as jatrofa and higuereta, which haven’t any use so far since the oil they produce is toxic. Leer más »

The world’s first commercial-scale seawater-based biofuels project boosts Egypt’s aquaculture profile. (Photo: Global Seawater).

EGYPT, Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 00:40 (GMT + 9)

Houston-based energy projects development company Energy Allied International and the Seawater Foundation and Global Seawater, Inc, pioneers in the development of Integrated Seawater Agriculture Systems (ISAS), have signed an MOU to develop the world’s first commercial-scale seawater-based biofuels project in Egypt: “New Nile Co.” Leer más »

Yields of biodiesel from oilseed crops such as safflower could be increased by up to 24 percent using a new process developed by chemists at UC Davis.

The method converts both plant oils and carbohydrates into biodiesel in a single process, and should also improve the performance characteristics of biodiesel, especially in cold weather. Leer más »

BA says the plant will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

British Airways has struck a deal to build the first plant in Europe to produce jet fuel from waste matter.

Some 500,000 tonnes of waste will be used by the UK facility each year to produce 16 million gallons of fuel.

Construction of the plant in east London will start within two years. It is set to produce fuel from 2014, creating up to 1,200 jobs. Leer más »

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell plans to form an ethanol and fuel distribution joint venture worth up to $12 billion with Brazilian sugar and biofuel giant Cosan, becoming the latest global energy company to buy into one of Brazil’s fastest-growing industries.

The deal, announced on Monday, marks Shell’s first foray into ethanol production and follows moves by British oil company BP, which in 2008 took a stake in a big Brazilian biofuel project and unveiled $1 billion in investments.

Cosan shares jumped 12 percent in Sao Paulo, compared with a 1.1 percent gain by the benchmark Bovespa index. Shell shares rose 1.1 percent in London, outperforming a 0.3 percent rise in the Dow Jones European oil and gas index. Leer más »

JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Brazil on Tuesday opened the world’s first ethanol-fueled power plant in an effort by the South American biofuels giant to increase the global use of ethanol and boost its clean power generation.

State-run oil giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N), which helped design the plant, are betting that increased use of ethanol generation by green-conscious countries will boost demand for the product.

Brazil, the top global ethanol exporter, is already in talks with Japan to develop biofuels power generation there. Leer más »

Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence. Credit: Roy Kaltschmidt, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence. The sequence and its analysis appear in the January 14 edition of the journal Nature. Leer más »