Australian university, and private sector companies, ink sugar ethanol research deal with Switzerland’s Syngenta

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT), its technology transfer company qutbluebox, Australian biotech firm Farmacule BioIndustries, and Swiss agribusiness Syngenta have agreed to a research partnership for sugar ethanol production.

The Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuel Development in Brisbane will will open this month. The Queensland government pledged $4 million towards the Centre and the Center centre and a biofuels pilot plant.

The Queensland government recently approved a 40 Mgy biodiesel plant that will be constructed at Mackay, the will be operated by the Mackay Port Authority and begin production in 2008.

The Queensland government is operating under a biofuels policy initiative, +e, announced earlier this year, and Brisbane is currently testing B20 biodiesel in city buses.

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