Total, one of the world’s leading energy companies, and Amyris, an industrial bioscience company, begin to prepare to market a drop in jet fuel that contains up to 10% blends of renewable farnesane. This new jet fuel blend meets the rigorous performance requirements set for Jet A/A-1 fuel used by the global commercial aviation industry.
Celtic Renewables, the Edinburgh-based biofuel company, has signed an agreement with Europe’s foremost biotechnology pilot facility to undergo next stage testing of its process to turn whisky by-products into biofuel that can power current vehicles. The partnership, which will allow the company to develop its technology at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, has been made possible by second round funding worth €1.5million, including more than €1million from the UK Government, to help meet its ambition of growing a new €125 million-a-year industry in the UK.
The British plan for the bioeconomy takes a step forward. Biome Bioplastics CEO, Paul Mines, has been appointed to the management board of the Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Network (LBNet), a government-funded body tasked with fostering cross-disciplinary communities in the industrial biotechnology sector. LBnet is an active community of industrial practitioners and leading academics generating economic value through novel chemical, material and fuel processes that use lignocellulosic biomass as an alternative to petroleum-derived inputs.
Ford, the global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, and H.J. Heinz Company, one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods specializing in ketchup, sauces, meals, soups, snacks and infant nutrition, explore the use of tomato fiber to develop a more sustainable bio-plastic material for vehicles. It might seem that tomatoes and cars have nothing in common. But researchers at Ford Motor Company and H.J. Heinz Company see the possibility of an innovative union.
EU energy ministers agreed a deal on Friday to limit production of biofuels made from food crops, responding to criticism these stoke inflation and do more environmental harm than good. The ministers’ endorsement of a new compromise overcomes a stalemate hit late last year when European Union governments failed to agree on a proposed 5 percent cap on the use of biofuels based on crops such as maize or rapeseed.
“The Malaysian bioeconomy today is worth more than USD 4.4 billion (RM14 billion) and creates over 83,000 people. As you can see, bioeconomy is an important component in creating a more sustainable future where resources are used in the most efficient way. In 2020, Bioeconomy’s contribution towards Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is targeted to contribute 8%-10% from the current 2%-3%”. To say this, in this long exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista, is Zurina Che Dir, Senior Vice President Bioeconomy Development Division of the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation. With Mrs. Zurina Che Dir we talk about bioeconomy in Malaysia, where “the Government has identified bioeconomy as one of the key strategic drivers to elevate the nation’s socio-economic development”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
EuropaBio and Smithers Rapra, in association with IAR, unveil the highly-anticipated agenda for the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB) from 1-2 October 2014 taking place in Reims, the heart of Champagne-Ardenne (France). Committed to creating a forum to address opportunities and challenges for the biobased economy, EFIB is consistent in attracting an unrivalled calibre of speakers from across the fields of both policy and business. This year’s high level plenary includes a French ministerial address from this year’s host nation, complemented by the European Commission’s take on the future of the European biobased economy. Followed by a discussion on shale gas and how it is impacting investments and market development in petrochemical and biobased value chains, featuring representatives from Shell and European Bioplastics.
Addax Bioenergy, a sugarcane-based renewable energy company, announced that its facility in Makeni, Sierra Leone, has started producing sugarcane bioethanol and renewable electricity. The company will produce 85,000 m3 of bioethanol per year by end 2016. The pioneering project involves the development of a Greenfield 10,000 hectare sugarcane plantation, the construction of a bioethanol refinery and a biomass-fuelled co-generation plant to produce green power and contribute about 20% of Sierra Leone’s national electricity requirements. It has been developed in partnership with eight Development Finance Institutions, and is the only bioethanol project to be brought to financial close in Africa.
nova-paper #4 “Proposals for a Reform of the Renewable Energy Directive to a Renewable Energy and Materials Directive (REMD)” presents a reform proposal that aims at creating a level playing field for bio-based chemicals and materials with bioenergy and biofuels in Europe. It is fundamentally different from other reforms of the Directive being currently discussed because it opens the perspective to not only look at energy, but also at bio-based materials.
Invista, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, and owner of the Lycra brand, introduces the only commercial offering of a bio-derived spandex available globally and for use in a wide variety of apparel fabrics and garments. Approximately 70% by weight of the new Lycra bio-derived spandex fiber comes from a renewable source made from dextrose derived from corn. The use of a renewable feedstock in the making of this new Lycra bio-derived fiber results in a lower CO2 emissions footprint than spandex produced using traditional raw materials.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 