UK government launches funding competition for advanced biofuel plants

In the UK, the UK green fuels industry will take a significant step forward with the launch of a GBP25 million competition to build advanced biofuel plants. The Department for Transport funding is supported by significant private sector investment and will enable the construction of up to three demonstration biofuel plants, the first of their kind in the UK.

The fuel produced by the chosen technology must show a minimum of 60% greenhouse gas emissions reductions compared with fossil fuels. Advanced biofuels are made from waste materials such as agricultural residues like straw, using complex processing techniques. They can produce a wide range of transport fuels for roads and aviation.

This GBP25 million funding will be made available over 3 years. The Competition will be run in two stages with a detailed Expression of Interest (EoI) stage for potential bidders open until February 13, 2015, followed by full proposals in June 2015.

The Competition expects plants backed by this funding to be operational by December 2018 and produce at least 1 million liters of biofuel a year