
Sugar mills in Maharashtra have filed bids to supply 1.11 billion litres of ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMC) for 2021/22 (December-November), according to local press reports.

EFT unveils new technology to produce synthetic fuels [Full subscriber]
The US tech company Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) has introduced a catalyst system to produce synthetic diesel and jet fuels, according to the company’s press release.

Effective, sustainable, patent-pending waste-to-fuel technology [Full subscriber]
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed an electrocatalytic oxidation fuel recovery system capable of converting waste from sewage, food crops, algae and other renewable carbon sources into valuable chemicals while simultaneously generating useful hydrogen.

France – Motorists opt for the cheaper E85 blend [Full subscriber]
Consumption of super ethanol E85 fuel rose 33% in France in 2021 and is expected to continue growing this year as a surge in gasoline prices makes the biofuel more attractive to consumers, reported Reuters.

Thailand – Marubeni and Mitr Phol partner to pursue biofuel, renewable energy projects [Full subscriber]
Japan’s Marubeni said on 24th January it will partner with Thai sugar producer Mitr Phol Sugar to jointly make bioplastic products, produce bioethanol and develop renewable energy projects in Thailand.

Indian government has so far approved 196 grain-based ethanol plants [Full subscriber]
To date, the government has approved 196 grain-based ethanol projects with 8.59 billion-litre capacity have been approved by Union Food Ministry since January 2021, a government official said, according to local press reports.

US Supreme Court rejects bid for year-round E15 sales [Full subscriber]
The US Supreme Court on 10th January, without comment, refused to hear an ethanol industry appeal to reinstate year-round sales of E15, gasoline containing 15% ethanol. A federal appeals court ruled in July ’21 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting at the direction of then-President Trump, exceeded its authority in approving summertime sales of E15 in 2019.

UGI and Vertimass partner to produce drop-in fuels from ethanol [Registered]
US energy company UGI Corp has agreed with Vertimass to use its catalytic technology to produce biobased ethanol into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as renewable-propane, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Japan invests in the production of sustainable aviation fuel [Full subscriber]
Japan is focusing on commercialising domestically produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its primary transport biofuels strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, according to a recent report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).