In Germany, the International Union of Marine Insurance said in its December quarterly newsletter that more than 100 vessels have been negatively impacted by biodiesel-contaminated fuel and as a result is calling for stricter ISO standards beyond the current “fit for purpose” stipulation. Currently, it is up to end users to test fuels but the […]
In Ethiopia, Kenya’s Standard newspaper reports that a local entrepreneur has developed a mobile money app called Amole that he is rolling out among jatropha farmers supplying API Renewable Energy. The company buys jatropha nuts from half a million farmers and believes the app will facilitate trade for the unbanked in rural areas. The company […]
In Portugal, the country is looking to have at least a quarter of its transportation fuel across all sectors come from biofuel by 2030 as it looks to convert 90% to renewable energy by 2040 and total decarbonization of its public transportation system. It sees electromobility as a key part of this transition but as […]
In Indonesia, Reuters reports that November palm oil production has likely to fall slightly compared to October at 3.98 million metric tons, 10,000 tons lower. Exports were also expected to be slightly lower at 3 million tons, 3,000 tons lower than in October. A key feature to the global vegetable oils market at the moment […]
In Argentina, eFarmNews reports that ACA, the largest farming cooperative in the country, will invest $53 million to boost ethanol production capacity at its corn-based facility in Villa Maria by 40% to 700,000 liters per day from the current 500,000 liters per day. The company expects future policy to boost the blending mandate to as […]
In the UK, Heriot-Watt University School of Social Sciences is looking for volunteers to participate in an interview for our project titled “Assessing Sustainable Aviation Biofuel Production Technologies”. This project is a part of a larger EPSRC-funded project that aims to produce low carbon jet fuels through integration of novel technologies for co-valorisation of CO2 […]
In Arkansas, a University of Arkansas biologist working on research that could decrease the need for agricultural fertilizers and boost the production of biofuels recently received grants totaling more than $1 million from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is studying how methanogens, organisms similar to bacteria, are able to […]
In Malaysia, Bernama news agency reports that in response to France’s ban on palm oil as a feedstock for biofuels from 2020, the country is gathering Indonesia and Colombia in February to discuss how to tackle the reduced palm oil demand that will result from the French Parliament’s policy shift. The primary industries minister believes […]
IEA Bioenergy conducted work on sustainability assessments of bioenergy systems and the carbon balance of forest-based bioenergy. Annette Cowie and Göran Berndes from Chalmers University of Technology and IEA Bioenergy gave this illuminating overview of the methods and tools used to assess the sustainability of bioenergy at ABLC Global 2018 in San Francisco – and […]
The pace of bioeconomy invention and change continues at a frenetic pace. Here are the top innovations for the week of December 26th. In today’s Digest, enemy submarine detecting microorganisms, algae-based polymers, edible antimicrobial film, limestone-based bags, soybean oil based road sealant — these and more, ready for you now at The Digest online. #1 […]
