Sales of ethanol have increased dramatically this year as consumers seek to reduce Sweden’s dependence on imported oil.

Kuala Lumpur - The Cabinet Committee on the Competitiveness of the Palm Oil Industry has called a halt on new manufacturing licences for biodiesel production, effective immediately.

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) claims to have succeeded in continuous synthesis of biodiesel at laboratory scale from woody biomass through gasification, purification using activated carbon, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Chinese scientists claim to have made a breakthrough in reducing the cost of converting crop stalks, chaff and sawdust into bio-oil (a product with similar properties to heavy diesel).

Canada's top plant researchers are joining forces with the federal government and industry partners to come up with new ways to use crops to reduce greenhouse gases, provide alternative energy sources and mitigate climate change.

British Biofuels announced yesterday that its first production biodiesel plant, Teeside 1, was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.  Teeside 1, the largest such plant in the UK, has the capacity to provide a quarter of the UK's 'Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation 2010' target for biodiesel.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a 'Request for Information' (RFI) from the public on the most efficient way to implement cellulosic biofuel production. Comments must be submitted by 8:00 pm ET, Friday, July 14, 2006.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today announced that U.S. ethanol supplies continued to increase in the month of April, immediately prior to oil refiners’ voluntary elimination of MTBE.  According to Energy Information Administration data, stocks of ethanol reached a new pinnacle of 9.087 million barrels, or more than 380 million gallons.  This marks the 4th month in a row ethanol stocks grew in 2006 and represents more than a 60 percent increase from the end of 2005.