Work has started on a biofuels conversion facility in Bryan, Texas, that will test the scaled-up, commercial feasibility of Terrabon's MixAlco™ technology. The MixAlco technology uses non-food feedstocks such as municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, forest product residues and non-edible energy crops to create acetic acid and alcohols that may be converted into fuel. The new semi-works demonstration plant is designed to confirm the engineering for the technology on a larger scale.

A $10 million equity investment by Marathon Oil in Mascoma was announced yesterday (6th May) as part of the $61 million raised in Mascoma’s third round of funding round. With the completion of this round of financing, Mascoma has raised approximately $100 million in equity investment. The company has also received commitments for over $100 million in state and federal grants, including the recent awarding of a $26 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Mariann Fischer Boel, the European Commissioner responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development, took the media to task this week for using biofuels as a scapegoat for the food price crisis.  Speaking at the Policy dialogue on biofuels organised by European Policy Centre, Fischer Boel said;  "Right now, a storm is blowing. Of course, Europe has seen many storms over the last year or two – whether because of climate change or more familiar factors. But over this period, I have seen no storm as ferocious as the recent media storm about biofuels.

A $300 million investment commitment, to fund the construction of four, next generation, bio-refining facilities, has been made by the private equity group First Reserve Corporation to Osage Bio Energy

"We are extremely excited about this milestone and our partnership with First Reserve. Their commitment confirms the validity of Osage Bio Energy’s unique business model and provides us the financial resources, as well as industry expertise, to make our plans a reality," said Craig Shealy, President & CEO of Osage Bio Energy.

A lack of investment in agriculture over a long period has contributed to the current global food crisis, according to a United Nations expert. Speaking at a news conference in New York yesterday (6th April) Kathleen Abdalla, of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said  that while populations have grown and diets have changed, "we've had a lack of investment in agriculture for quite a long time now and a lack of aid for agriculture. Certainly it's not been a high priority for development assistance and basically the productivity growth hasn't kept pace with the increase in demand."

Finnish oil company Neste has launched Neste Green diesel onto the Finnish market. The product is, a mix of Neste's NExBTL and standard diesel is, says the company, the first renewable diesel that suits all diesel engines. Neste Green diesel will first become available in the metropolitan region around Helsinki after which distribution will be extended to other parts of Finland on a phased basis.

German engineering companies Süd-Chemie AG and Linde Group have announced an agreement to co-operate to develop and market plants for the production of second-generation biofuels.