German survey finds 27 percent of oilseed mills shut down by feedstock prices, tax law changes

In Germany, a survey by the Center for Advanced Technology found that 27 percent of German oilseed mills had shut down production entirely and that 36 percent are running on less than 50 percent of capacity. The survey concluded that feedstock prices and changes in the German taxation system to remove biofuels tax credits, were responsible for the industry collapse.

Germany background

An advisory committee to the Thuringian Agricultural Ministry concluded that as much as 30 percent of Thuringian arable land could be converted to biofuel production without impact on the food or livestock feed industries. The German state had previously announced a 20 percent biofuels target for 2020.

A 95 Mgy Südzucker ethanol plant, the largest in Europe, commenced production in Zeitz last month. The plant uses sugar beet syrup as a feedstock, and will also produce its own biogas that will power special burners that eliminate all aromatic compounds associated with the production process.

Cropenergies announced the purchase of Ryssen Alcools from Sudzucker and said that it would increase ethanol production by nearly 30 Mgy in France. The company said that it will produce a total of 185 Mgy in 2008/09.

Lufthansa said last month that it would convert up to 10 percent of its fuel usage to biofuels by 2020, as a part of its overall effort to reduce emissions by 25 percent in that time frame. compared to 2006 levels. The company, which announced a set of measures to improve environmental efficiency, also said that it would reduce NOX emissions by 80 percent from 2000 levels.

Daimler said that has successfully tested B100 jatropha biodiesel in 3500 mile trail runs across the country using a Mercedes-Benz C Class C 220 CDI. The trial runs met European emission requirements and achieved comparable mileage to conventional diesel fuel Daimler also said that it was testing the production of jatropha at two nurseries in India, totaling 30 hectares, and that it projected that it would be able top produce jatropha at $1.57 per gallon. The company said it would take two to five years to maximize yield with a varietal whose seeds contained 60 percent oil, and that jatropha would provide yields for up to 30 years.

Earlier in July, Verbio has put its ethanol production unit in Schwedt back online, after shutting down last October due to escalating rye prices. The plant has now converted over to sugar production and sugar-containing wastes, which will make it cost competitive with Brazilian ethanol.

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