A demonstration cellulosic bioethanol plant based at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries's Kobe Shipyard is about to go into continuous operation, the company said at an official launch today (30th November). The plant, jointly built by MHI, the Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co, and the Kansai Chemical Engineering Co, will produce ethanol for automobile fuel from soft cellulose vegetating in Hyogo, such as, rice straw and wheat straw.

Commercial production of crude jatropha oil (CJO) has started at GEM BioFuels Plc, and the company expects to make its first shipment of CJO early next month, it was announced this week. Whilst the value of the initial shipment is, says the company, expected to be relatively small, the achievement of this milestone represents a significant point in the its evolution and growth towards becoming a commercial supplier of sustainable feedstock for the biodiesel industry.

A joint venture biofuel technology centre planned for Hull will help to grow the UK's economy and enhance its reputation as a world-class centre for innovation and research, Lord Mandelson said during a visit to the region today (27th November). The centre, which will be run by Kingston Research, a company jointly owned by DuPont and BP, will focus on the commercialisation of advanced biofuel technology at the £25m purpose-built facility at BP's Saltend site, near Hull.

A three year project to develop a more sustainable biofuel feedstock by focusing on sugar-rich varieties of perennial ryegrass was unveilled by Aberystwyth University today (26th November). The Grassohol project brings together the expertise of eight partners who are leaders in their respective fields; Aber Instruments Ltd, Alvan Blanch, Germinal Holdings Ltd, IBERS, National Farmers Union, ONE 51 Plc, TMO Renewables and Wynnstay Group Plc.

A two-year project announced today (24th November) sees Ceres and CHOREN joining forces to optimize energy crops for thermochemical conversion to advanced low-carbon biofuels. The joint project, funded in part by a grant from the US Department of Energy, will use Ceres to evaluate the composition of a broad range of switchgrass and willow plants, and provide biomass samples to CHOREN for thermochemical processing. The results will be used to identify the most relevant compositional traits, and later, to select the plants and traits that improve conversion and maximize fuel yields.

An agreement to further develop and optimize the process and the enzymes for converting plant residues to fuel has been signed Inbicon and Novozymes. The deal says the company paves the way for a profitable green technology.

Mercuria Energy has acquired 3B Biofuels Gmbh & Co. KG, a leading European bio-diesel refinery with 250,000 MT of fully operational production capacity it was announced today (23rd November). The plant is located in Brunsbuttel, Germany, at the confluence of the Elbe River and the Kiel canal, approximately eighty kilometers from Hamburg. This strategic location is close to the main commodity and refinery ports of Hamburg and the Benelux countries, providing competitive sourcing and selling opportunities. Following an upgrade which was completed in June 2009, the plant is a state-of-the-art facility, says the Mercuria.

A deal to produce biofuels to replace up to 20% of Rwanda's fossil fuel requirement was signed today (23rd November) by US company Eco-Fuel Global and the Rwandan government. The agreement estimated to be worth in excess of $250m will see Eco-Fuel Global producing biofuels from Jatropha Curcas.