Bioking Incorporated of the Netherlands have introduced their new containerised biodiesel plant.  The company claims it produces 26,000 tons of biodiesel per year on a continuous-flow basis.  The core of the new plant is their 'BK18ST Continuous Flow Reactor', which pumps feedstock and methoxide through a series of narrow tubes with internal 'fins'.  This accomplishes the transesterification process which in traditional batch-processing systems takes place in a reactor vessel.

Front Range Energy and Pacific Ethanol today announced the completion of Front Range Energy’s ethanol plant in Windsor, Colorado. The ICM-designed facility has a capacity of 40 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol. The plant produced its first ethanol on June 9 and expects to ship its first loads of ethanol and wet distillers grains (“WDG”) later this week.

The French national rail operator SNCF (Societe National de Chemin de Fer) announced on Tuesday that it will be using B30 in some trains and B100 (pure vegetable oil) in others.

The tropics seem to be blessed with energy-producing plants. Oil palm, sugar cane, jatropha, coconut....now they have found another one which has the potential to put these plants in the shade.  Early studies indicate that the the Nypa palm (Nypa Fruticans), is an energy powerhouse capable of producing 20 tonnes of sugar per hectare (8 metric tonnes per acre), or 14300 litres of ethanol per hectare (1530 gallons per acre).  This is twice the yield of sugar cane.

According to BP's annual 'Statistical Review of World Energy 2006' released yesterday, ethanol production increased 10% in 2005 to 16 million tons and made up 0.4% of world transport fuel consumption.

VeraSun Energy Corporation, America'a second largest ethanol producer, rose by 30% yesterday on their debut in New York. The spectacular opening for VeraSun affected other biofuel producers, among them Pacific Ethanol, rising 10%.  Fears over security of supply and high prices for petroleum products are fuelling a scramble to invest in alternative energy producers worldwide.

London, June 14 - BP has announced today that it plans to spend USD $500 million over the next ten years to establish a dedicated biofuels research laboratory attached to a major academic centre in the US or UK, the first facility of its kind in the world.