San Diego-based SG Biofuels Inc., a bioenergy crop company using breeding and biotechnology to develop hybrid seeds of jatropha, has secured $17 million in a Series B round of financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners with participation from Finistere Ventures and existing investors Flint Hills Resources LLC and...

In Australia, Algae.Tec announced that a A$5M Placement through Patersons Securities Limited has been successfully completed. The company announced last week that it had signed a binding MOU for a 50/50 equity joint venture with Shandong Kerui Group Holding, for the construction, in Dongying (Shandong province) of an 8.7 million gallons (33 m...

American Ethanol is gearing up for the 2012 NASCAR season with a renewed commitment to the sport that spotlights racing on 15% ethanol fuel. During the NASCAR Preview fan event in Charlotte, N.C. this weekend, American Ethanol announced that it will continue relationships with Richard Childress Racing and RAB Racing for the 2012 season. This i...

In Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA has approved a conditional commitment for a $25 million guaranteed loan for the proposed Fiberight biorefinery, based in Blairstown, Iowa. USDA funding will be used to construct a 55,000 square foot facility that will produce cel...

HAMBURG - Germany should not increase imports of food to produce biofuels, because this could threaten the supply of food in developing countries, a report from a German government advisory body said on Friday. "Even higher imports of agricultural commodities for bioenergy production should not be allowed to lead to an increase in world h...

In South Dakota, POET has decided to postpone plans for a $4 billion pipeline between the Midwest and the East Coast. The company will be unable to get a federal loan guarantee for the project which began in 2009 as a joint venture between POET and Magellan. After studies indicated financing would require a federal loan guarantee, Magellan pu...

Madrid - Abengoa the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has been presented with the Internationalization Award 2010 by the Círculo de Empresarios business association, which was received by the Vice-chairman of Abe...

The black No. 3 Chevrolet that carried Dale Earnhardt Jr. to four NASCAR Nationwide series championships will boast a new American Ethanol paint scheme in several races during the 2012 season. The new look for the iconic car was unveiled this past weekend during the NASCAR Preview 2012 event in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it was also anno...

Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. Studies by scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are providing valuable information about how biochar-the charr...

The US policy to produce ethanol biofuel from corn is raising prices for the grain across the world, said Jose Graziano da Silva, the new director-general of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation. ''FAO has been raising its voice against using food to produce bioenergy,'' he told a meeting of 64 agriculture ministers in Berlin ...

In one of the coldest states in the U.S., a biomass heating system saves money and time for its operators while providing extraordinarily reliable heat and hot water all winter long. At National Life Group in Vermont, those people include Ansel Quintin, HVAC team leader. In December 2010 when the Fortune 1000 company installed a new, twin-boil...

SANTIAGo - Brown seaweed's potential as a vast source of biofuels has been highlighted with the announcement that scientists have found a way of converting all its major sugars into ethanol. A team reported in Science that it has engineered a microbe that will convert the sugars to ethanol, overturning one of the main obstacles to making the u...

SINGAPORE - JOil (S) Pte Ltd, a scientific bioenergy crop developer of New Generation Jatropha, discussed cutting edge science and biotechnology processes that could increase the present productivity of Jatropha from the less than 1 ton of oil/hectare to 3 tons/hectare using bree...

Ethanol giant POET is partnering with a Netherlands-based life sciences company with the intention of making advanced biofuels a reality by next year. POET has announced a joint venture with Royal DSM to commercially demonstrate and license cellulosic bio-ethanol based on their proprietary and complementary technologies. POET–DSM Advance...

Washington - U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack will be the headline speaker at the 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) in Orlando, Florida. Vilsack will address the crowd of some 1,400 attendees at 8:20 a.m. Eastern on February 24. During his tenure, Secretary Vilsack has b...

Crude oil refiner Valero Energy has unveiled plans to invest $50m in a cellulosic ethanol plant which will be located in the US state of Michigan. The investment will allow Valero to purchase the facility's 40 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol. Lebanon-based Mascoma Corp secured $23.5m from the state of Michigan to fund the ...