Finnish oil company Neste Oil has unveilled plans to build a new NExBTL renewable diesel plant in Rotterdam. Construction of the, €670 million, plant will begin immediately with the company planning for a completion in 2011.

Belarus has unique and attractive conditions for producing biofuels and for foreign investment in the industry according to Mr. Ivan Danchenko, chairman of Belgospicheprom. Speaking at an FO Licht-organised conference on biofuels in central and eastern Europe in Warsaw today (12th June), Danchenko restated the Belarus Government's policy of achieving a share of 25% of total energy use for alternative energy sources, including biofuels, within the next five years.

A joint development agreement to build and operate a 75 million gallon per year production biodiesel plant near Rosario, Argentina has been signed by AE Biofuels and DS Development. According to the companies plant permits and feedstock agreements are already in place, although construction of the biodiesel plant is still subject to obtaining necessary project financing. Plant completion is expected in late 2009.

A microalgae-derived renewable diesel, Soladiesel™ produced by Solazyme, has passed American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D-975 specifications it was announced today (11th June). Soladiesel, claims the company, is the first algal-based renewable diesel to meet these standards.

A new process which, the developers say, will play a key role in the conversion of algae biomass to biofuels, has been launched by Canadian company POS Pilot Plant Corp. The company has invested almost Can$1m in developing the new extraction process, but has been supported to the tune of $370,000 by various state and national government sources.

"In the wake of sky rocketing gasoline prices and immense concern about emissions causing the so-called green house gas effect, there has been strong interest in bio-based fuels. POS has been working with international clients to develop bio-based fuel components that will capture value, be cost effective and have minimal impact on the environment." said Robert E. Morgan, President and CEO of POS Pilot Plant Corp. "Our goal is to support the ability of our manufacturers and their customers to make the choices that work best for their needs. Our team of experts has used our uniquely flexible technologies to produce pure oils from waste plant material, waste fat, waste products from oilseed processing, non-food oilseed crops and now, algae."

The biofuels market in North America will earn revenues of $18.52 billion by 2012, almost double the $9.98 billion earnings for 2007, according to forecasts from Frost & Sullivan in its latest report, 'North American Biofuels Market: Investment Analysis'.

“Regulatory support coupled with the need to address the geopolitical risk posed by relying on the turbulent Middle East and Venezuela is driving the growth of the North American biofuels market,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Shrikanth S. “Furthermore, there is a strong venture capital investment climate in the next-generation biofuels, which are expected to be more efficient, using algae, waste, straw, wood, and other forest-based inputs that can be found in abundance in the United States.”

A jatropha nursery, which will produce an initial 360,000 plants in approximately two months, has been set up by the Peruvian-based Pure Biofuels Corp. In the long term the company has plans to scale up the nursery project to produce one million plants per month. The first yield of oil, which the company is going to use as feedstock for biodiesel production, is expected in less than a year.

Danish company FOSS has launched the XDS Biodiesel Analyser. According to the company the analyser is a rapid and easy-to-use solution for the control of biodiesel production.