BioAmber Sarnia’s new bio-based succinic acid plant, the first and only commercial scale production plant of its kind in the world, will receive a $12 million investment from the Harper Government to support its construction in Sarnia.
The announcement was made by Patricia Davidson, Member of Parliament for Sarnia–Lambton, alongside the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The plant is expected to create 150 construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs once the plant is operational at the end of 2014.
Cereplast’s plant in CaliforniaCereplast, a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable bioplastics, is advancing in the research and development stage in preparation to bring to the market a more sustainable and cost efficient process for the development of algae bioplastic resins. Continue reading →
The Port of Frederikshavn, in Denmark, and Steeper Energy, a Danish specialist energy project and technology development company , along with Aalborg University has entered into a partnership to establish the world’s first biomass-based plant to produce a sustainable marine fuel. The plant will produce sulphur-free fully renewable fuel for the several thousand vessels passing through the port annually. A new zero-tolerance law on sulphur content as well as the general acceptance that every part of society must do its part for climate change are the keys for success, according to the consortium.
European Parliament, BrusselsThe European Parliament called for a cap on the use of traditional biofuels and a speedy switchover to new biofuels from alternative sources such as seaweed and waste, in a vote on draft legislation yesterday. So called “first-generation” biofuels – from food crops – should not exceed 6% of fuel used in transport by 2020, amending the target from 10%.The measures aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result from the increasing turnover of agricultural land to biofuel production.
New proposals which aim to limit the percentage of biofuels that can be used in transport fuels continue to divide opinion among European policymakers and stakeholders.
The fuel quality directive and renewable energy directive proposal, adopted by parliament’s environment committee, include new rules that take into consideration the impacts of producing biofuel crops.
There is persistent concern that biofuels compete with food production, drive up food prices and price volatility and so cause hunger.
Many people, including very dignified authorities, accept this simple causality chain. The reality is far more complex.
Michael Carus, managing director of the nova-Institut
“A comprehensive analysis of hurdles carried out by nova-Institut shows that the RED (which will in future be associated with the FQD – Fuel Quality Directive 9870 – in the transport sector) is one of the main causes of the longstanding and systematic discrimination between material and energy uses. The RED hinders the development of material use and therefore that of the whole bio-based economy. Unfavorable framework conditions combined with high biomass prices and uncertain biomass supplies deter investors from putting money into bio-based chemistry and plastics – even though these would produce higher value and greater resource efficiency”. To say it is Michael Carus, physicist and managing director of the nova-Institut, the German private and independent Scientific Institute specialized in the bioeconomy, one of the most prestigious at the European level. In this interview with Il Bioeconomista, Carus uses the phrase “Misallocation of biomass” to define the effects of the RED (Renewable Energy Directive), since “this is blocking higher value material uses like chemicals and plastics from coming to fruition”. And explains his point of view on the first generation vs. second generation biofuels issue.
EFIB returns to Brussels. From 30th September to 2nd October the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Biobased Economy (EFIB) returns to Europe’s capital, where it was first launched 5 years ago. Since then, the event has grown tenfold in size but remains true to its goal of providing the premier meeting place for business and policy throughout the biobased value chain.
The bio-based revolution extends to the carton packaging industry. In a first for this field, Tetra Pak, the Swedish multinational giant with net sales in 2012 of 11.15 billion euros, plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resins producer in the Americas, for the supply of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil.
According to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, a global biofuels federation representing over 65% of the world’s renewable fuels production from 44 different countries, 62 countries now have biofuels friendly policies in place whose ethanol production alone has replaced the need for over 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.
