Shell, which will continue to provide technical support to the advanced biofuels project, did not give a reason for the divestiture, although the other shareholders, according to a Reuters report, had agreed to a new round of capital injection to finance the commencement of commercial production in 2010.

Choren is constructing a plant in Frieburg that will produce 15,000 tonnes of biofuel wood wastes.

Shell drops investment in advanced biofuels developer Choren: sells stake to VW, Daimler, Hamburg investors is a post from: Biofuels Digest

UNICA says sugarcane ethanol “is a better alternative fuel for the environment than electricity.” is a post from: Biofuels Digest

A report in Ethanol Producer confirmed that the Vericipia plant — a joint venture between BP and Verenium, will open in Florida in 2012, and is planning to develop a second site along the Gulf Coast. BP’s joint venture with DuPont in biobutanol, will open a demonstration-scale plant in the UK in 2010 and commercially produce biobutanol in 2013.

BP outlines 3-pronged biofuels strategy, says biobutanol plant will open at commercial scale in 2013 is a post from: Biofuels Digest

$100,000 renewable energy business plan prize announced for African countries is a post from: Biofuels Digest

CNPC will also evaluate the installation of a demonstration-scale UOP/Eni Ecofining process unit for the production of green diesel fuel, as well as a larger-scale unit at an existing or new CNPC refinery site. The Ecofining process uses catalytic hydroprocessing technology to convert natural oils to a green diesel fuel.

The product, a direct substitute for diesel fuel, features a high cetane value (the measure of the combustion quality of diesel) of approximately 80. Compared to diesel found at the pump today, which ranges from 40 to 60 cetane, green diesel offers value as a blending stock for refiners seeking to enhance existing diesel fuels and expand the diesel pool.

Honeywell, China National Petroleum ink agreement on advanced biofuels for China; focus on Chinese feedstock evaluation is a post from: Biofuels Digest

In the new project, St1 will concentrate on optimizing high-blend bioethanol designed to replace fossil gasoline for Finnish conditions and minimizing the environmental impact of its use; while Neste Oil will focus on developing other biocomponents suitable for blending with conventional gasoline.

Neste, St1 target enhanced fuels for cars after success with NExBTL renewable diesel is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The announcement is also the first between an oil major and an algal fuel developer expressly aimed along a commercialization path. Previous tie-ups have featured early-stage investment and R&D partnership.

In a statement, Indian Oil Company said that the two companies will initially partner on adapting the algal strains and technology developed by PetroAlgae to suit Indian conditions. Thereafter, a pilot facility is proposed to demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology, with a 60 Mgy commercial production facility proposed for the the near future, along with a high-value protein that can be used as feedstock for animal feed production.

Indian Oil said that it has been exploring commercial ventures in all form of alternate energy including, solar, wind and biofuels. Significant progress has been made by the Corporation in energy crop plantation. The company expects to complete plantation of 100,000 acres of jatropha plantation, primarily in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (Indian Oil) is currently India’s largest company by sales with a sales of $60 billion. Indian Oil is ranked #116 in the Fortune ‘Global 500′, and is the 18th largest petroleum company in the world.

Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, has announced extensive investments in ethanol and cellulosic ethanol development, but to date the tie-ups between algal fuel developers and  oil companies had involved only private enterprise.

Florida Governor (and 2010 Senate candidate) Charlie Crist visited the PetroAlgae facility in Fellsmere, FL yesterday. On the left is PetroAlgae CEO Ottmar Dippold, at right is Crist.

The line-up of announced tie-ins is now:

ExxonMobil – Synthetic Genomics
Shell – Cellana
BP – Martek
Chevron – Solazyme
Indian Oil – PetroAlgae

Valero, Marathon Oil, Petrobras, Total, BP, Shell, and Chevron are extensively invested in other forms of advanced biofuels development, including drop-in renewable fuels as well as cellulosic ethanol. Sunoco, Valero and other companies are also invested in first generation fuels.

Dow is among other companies outside of the oil and gas sector now investing in algae, through its partnership with Algenol. Companies such as Proctor & Gamble are also exploring renewable chemicals, in P&Gs case through a partnership with LS9.

More about PetroAlgae in “Biggie Smalls: Microcrops go mainstream“.
More about oil companies entering the biofuels sphere, in “Big Oil on Biofuels Prowl?“.
More about the investors in biofuels, in “Who’s Your Daddy?”

Indian Oil becomes fifth oil major, first NOC, to join algal fuels race; signs with PetroAlgae is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The Greenfield complex in Belarus will initially produce 50 Mgy of ethanol, rising to 150 Mgy when the final two phases of the project are completed. The project will also produce power and biogas.

Greenfield plans, in conjunction with the Government of Belarus and international organizations such as the UNDP, to extend production of biofuels and to use the cultivation of biomass for biofuels as a means to speed up decontamination of the lands affected by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986.

Greenfield signs MOU for offtake from Chernobyl biofuels project is a post from: Biofuels Digest

The group said that the algae harvested also has low oil content, and is not financially suitable for algal fuel production.

Manitoba abandons wild algae harvest effort on Lake Winnipeg; fuel project not economically viable is a post from: Biofuels Digest

In 1999, Alpha Engines was granted a patent for the Detonation Cycle Gas Turbine engine, and in July 2002, Alpha granted Turbine Truck Engines the exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and market the DCGT as an energy efficient, cost effective heavy-duty truck engine. The engine can utilize gasoline, diesel, LPG, CNG, LNG, E85, M85, methanol, or hydrogen fuel.

Chinese issue patent for detonation cycle gas turbine engine that runs on E85, M85 and drop-in renewable fuels is a post from: Biofuels Digest