Financial Times. Sasol, the world’s largest synthetic fuels producer, is building two coal-to-liquid plants in China. (Image at right sketches the production process. Click to enlarge.) The two projects, in the Ning Xia and Shaan Xi provinces, are expected to cost about $3bn each and to have a combined annual... Read more →

Xinhuanet. China’s cabinet approved in principle the draft of China’s medium- and long-term energy development program, covering the period from 2004 to 2020. Make energy conservation the top priority. Adjust and optimize the energy structure. Pursue an energy development strategy with coal forming the mainstay and electricity the center of... Read more →

O2Diesel, an e-diesel provider, is shifting tomorrow to the American Stock Exchange from being an Over The Counter bulletin board stock. Upgrading its profile, in other words. Alan Rae, President and CEO of O2Diesel Corp., said, “Our move to the Amex is a significant step in the Company’s evolution from... Read more →

Newkerala.com. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a $500,000 effort to help control pollution in India, the US embassy said in a statement here Tuesday. Releasing a report on air pollution in India, the EPA urged India’s environmentalists to take advantage of its initiative, Integrated Environment Strategies (IES).... Read more →

Associated Press. U.S. counties that are home to nearly 100 million people appear to flunk federal air standards because of microscopic soot from diesel-burning trucks, power plants and other sources, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. [The soot referred to is called PM2.5 -- particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers... Read more →

Financial Times. Lexus is planning to triple its sales in Europe over the next six years. Takis Athanasopoulos, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Europe, said the brand’s first diesel engines and a hybrid petrol-electric off-roader would help boost sales to more than 60,000 by 2010 and bring the brand... Read more →

Beru AG, a leader in diesel cold-start technology, has rolled out a new Instant Startup System (ISS) plus a smart pressure sensor glow plug (PSG) that can play a critical role in minimizing diesel emissions at startup and during all phases of operation. (The image at right is a cross-section... Read more →

Research reported in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found a direct correlation between rising temperatures and a decrease in rice crop yield. Here we report that annual mean maximum and minimum temperatures have increased by 0.35°C and 1.13°C, respectively, for the period... Read more →

Reuters. The oil and gas reserves controversy sparked by Royal Dutch/Shell’s shock January downgrade took a new turn on Tuesday as two of Shell’s partners in a Norwegian gas field differed over reserves bookings. In its filing, Britain’s BP reaffirmed its bookings for the Ormen Lange gas field, Norway’s biggest... Read more →

Iogen Corporation (earlier post) has has obtained the first (and non-exclusive license) from the Purdue Research Foundation for a genetically modified yeast that can produce ethanol from agricultural waste. Purdue’s genetically altered yeast allows about 40 percent more ethanol to be made from sugars derived from agricultural residues, such as... Read more →

Both Wired and the Economist are running current pieces on oil sands production in Canada. Oil sands are a source of “unconventional” oil -- oil produced by means other than drilling a well and pumping up the crude. Oil sands are a mixture of sand, clay, water and deposits of... Read more →

The Daily Star, Bangladesh. The Sangu gas field reserve is depleting so fast that Petrobangla fears it will be exhausted completely by 2010. The gas field that heralded a new era of foreign investment in oil and gas sector and started operation back in 1998 is supposed to supply 200... Read more →

China Daily. China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the nation's second and third largest oil companies, have set up a joint venture to import crude oil. The joint venture makes CNOOC the fifth largest crude oil importer in China. At present, most of China’s... Read more →

Xinhuanet. Hyundai has announced that it will introduce to China a hybrid version of its popular Getz minicar starting in 2005. Hyundai has already delivered 50 such hybrids to the South Korean government. Read more →

Carpages. Kia is introducing its first diesel passenger car -- a version of the Cerato for the European market. The 1.5-liter version of the common rail diesel engine is to yield a combined 58 mpg. Read more →

The New York Times describes the potential for a prevalence of higher-sulfur fuels in China and developing countries, and the accompanying results. High levels of sulfur contamination occur naturally in some crude oil, especially from the Mideast and Russia. This “sour” oil is ordinarily harder to sell and fetches a... Read more →

Mid-Hudson News. The Masada OxyNol trash to ethanol plant may be in play before it is even built. A one-page outline of the Middletown operation by Ewing Bemiss [an investment banker] discusses acquisition considerations including that it is a turnkey site. The document lists as a transaction, “Masada Oxynol, LLC,... Read more →

Thinking about the EPA ads (below) and reading Aaron’s comment reminded me of this. Guardian Unlimited (UK). Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy in the UK, discusses the importance of educating people on the importance and benefits of green energy. “It’s crucial for the government to reach out and communicate... Read more →

ExxonMobil is reverting to selling conventional gasoline -- as opposed to reformulated gasoline with a 10% ethanol content -- in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The company’s move follows the June 18th stay issued by the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal against an EPA mandate that would have forced the area... Read more →

The Telegraph. Indian Railways is planning to use biofuel (extracted from jatropha plants) in 78 of its 7,200 locomotives. The proposed move envisages 78 bio-diesel locomotives comprising goods trains and some passenger trains running on the Kharagpur section. “The exact distance and the routes of the trains are yet to... Read more →

New York Times. A new series of whimsical public service announcements from the Environmental Protection Agency are lampooning the notion that cars can be made more energy efficient while the ads encourage conservation at home. A top E.P.A. official said the $1 million campaign was developed by a branch of... Read more →

Brazil has become the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, and leads in the export of agricultural products including sugar, coffee and orange juice. It is also becoming a major influencer in biofuels. Brazil is the world’s largest ethanol producer and runs most of its autos on ethanol made from its... Read more →

Stuart Energy Systems has been granted a US patent on its method for networking hydrogen energy stations. This provides some insight into the distributed nature of upcoming energy solutions. This “Energy Distribution Network” patent complements Stuart Energy’s previously-granted “Intelligent Hydrogen Fueling Station” U.S. patent, which gives Stuart Energy exclusive rights... Read more →

A working group consisting of Europe’s leading research, food and biotech organizations have developed a “vision” for the future of European plant biotechnology. Philipe Busquin, the EU Research Chief, announced the initiative, 2025: a European Vision for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology today in Brussels. The paper outlines the role plant... Read more →

Nanostellar, a startup striving to replace platinum group materials in catalytic converters with efficient, lower-costs nanocatalysts, raised $3 million in first round financing. Conventional catalytic technologies utilize platinum as the main catalyst to control automobile emissions and to generate clean energy power. Nanostellar’s platinum nano-composite material design technology reduces the... Read more →

LA Times. While the Bush administration has ramped up traditional energy exploration in the West, the region's governors on Tuesday adopted an ambitious initiative calling for expanded use of clean energy sources and greater energy efficiency across 17 states. The Western Governors Assn. unanimously adopted a Clean and Diversified Energy... Read more →

In a keynote address to the National Petroleum Council (NPC) today, US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham asked the group to conduct and complete a study of US refining capacity by Sept. 30. I understand that this is a tight timeframe, but it is my hope this information can be... Read more →

Toyota is rolling out an improved version of its diesel powerplant in Euro versions of the Corolla starting in September. The new 1.4-liter D-4D common rail turbocharged diesel delivers equivalent horsepower to its 2.0-liter predecessor, but with much better fuel economy and emissions control. The car is rated at a... Read more →

Oil & Gas Journal. Drilling on Wall Street versus drilling for new oil. “I can assure you—with [prices at] almost $40/bbl oil and $6/Mcf gas—that if companies today had a large inventory of near-term exploitation, development wells that they could drill or work over, they would be doing it,” [Marathon... Read more →

Oman’s average daily crude oil production dropped 6.1% during the first four months of 2004 to 785,500 barrels, from 836,800 during the same period last year. Exports dropped 7.6%. This reflects peaking in production, as shown in the chart to the right. Oman has recognized that its dependency on maturing... Read more →

Bloomberg Japan. Honda will reasses consumer reponse to its hybrid efforts following the release this fall of its New Accord Hybrid. The automaker isn’t sure how buyers will react as gasoline prices fluctuate and as the hybrid systems add thousands of dollars in costs, said Dan Bonawitz, Honda’s U.S. vice... Read more →

From Germany comes a preview of the 2nd generation compact A-Series. The series has sold 1.1 million units since its release in 1998, but still is a money-loser as a line. New or further-developed four-cylinder engines deliver up to 38% more power while fuel consumption falls by up to 10%.... Read more →

One answer to political gridlock over fuel susbidies is, of course, to not to need them. The rapid developments in nanotech and biotech (or nanobiotech) will help in that regard -- that and the increasing price of oil. From the German consultancy Helmut Kaiser: In some countries the costs for... Read more →

EDP24. Campaigners are angry that Chancellor Gordon Brown has consistently refused to give significant tax breaks for the green fuel. The current relief is 20pc, with another 0.5pc announced in March’s Budget speech, but campaigners say minimum tax cuts of 32pc are needed to kickstart biofuel production. With France and... Read more →

Akron Beacon Journal.Global American Energy Holding, a Missouri company, wants to build a $75 million trash-to-ethanol plant that it says will be the first of its kind in the country. The company has signed an agreement with the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority to issue as much as $75 million... Read more →

Zagros Petrochemical, a subsidiary of the Iranian National Oil Company, is building a new DME (Dimethyl Ether) plant with a capacity of 800,000 metric Tons Per Year (MTPY) of DME at Bandar Assaluyeh, Iran. Zagros is using technology and catalysts developed by Haldor Topsøe A/S of Denmark in collaboration with... Read more →

Scientists from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa have discovered that a nonporous organic molecular crystal can be exploited for the purification of hydrogen gas. The crystal, consisting of pairs (called dimers) of bowl-like calixarene molecules joined together, absorbs molecules such as carbon dioxide, carbon... Read more →

Just-food.com. A specialist committee of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has declared that manufacturing biodiesel is a safe way of disposing of so-called category 1 animal by-products, that could spread BSE [Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy -- mad cow disease] or CJD. [Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease -- a similar disease in humans. There... Read more →

Washington Post. Metro board members chose to scrap an $86 million plan to buy 200 natural gas-powered buses and retrofit a garage to service them in favor of using $82 million to purchase 117 “clean” diesel buses and 100 hybrid buses that use diesel fuel and electricity. The decision upends... Read more →

Hyundai has opened a research center at Seoul national University to accelerate its work on green cars, and plans to boost its research personnel from 6,500 to 10,000. The group has earmarked 2.5 trillion won [$2.16 billion], or 6 percent of this year’s estimated revenue, for investment in research and... Read more →

Lord Oxburgh, the interim non-executive chairman of The Shell Transport and Trading Company, told the Guardian that carbon sequestration is urgently necessary to address CO2-driven climate change. “Sequestration is difficult, but if we don’t have sequestration then I see very little hope for the world,” said Lord Oxburgh. “No one... Read more →

Japan Times. Seven years after hosting the Kyoto Protocol conference and pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions 6 percent by 2012, Japan finds itself in the embarrassing position of having increased levels of emissions and being uncertain over what to do about it. The government reported last month that greenhouse... Read more →

California Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing a $6 hike in annual smog check fees to fund a diesel upgrade program. To offset the pain somewhat, the Governor proposes to allow new car owners to forestall undergoing those inspections for an additional two years. Environmentalists applauded the governor’s plan, saying it is... Read more →

AP via Forbes. Alternative energy company Rentech Inc. said Wednesday that it formed a 50/50 joint venture with a unit of natural resources company Headwaters Inc. to develop and market gas-to-liquids technologies to the growing clean coal market. The joint venture will be known as FT Solutions LLC, or FTS,... Read more →

Hybrid Fuel Systems has introduced a dual-fuel conversion system for diesels that will allow the incorporation of up to 80% natural gas in the fuel mix. HFS systems rely upon an engine computer to start the engine with diesel fuel and inject more natural gas and cut back on diesel... Read more →

I’ve put together a simple diagram that represents -- at a very high, abstract level -- the different options we have for biofuels. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge. I’d appreciate any comments or additions. It is what is underneath each of the “market-ecture” boxes that makes this area interesting... Read more →

The Delaware State Senate passed a bill mandating that all diesel fuel in state be a 2% biodiesel blend starting in 2006. But Senate Bill 321 may have a tougher time in the House. “I think we are all concerned about the environment, but experience shows these changes are best... Read more →

Within the New York State Senate’s proposed billion-dollar tax cut package is a $0.20 per gallon tax incentive for NY State biofuels producers. “A production tax credit for the biofuels industry would directly result in economic growth and job creation in Central and Northern New York. This initiative could be... Read more →

UK-based D1 Oils, a competitor with Biofuels Corporation (earlier post) is also planning an IPO this summer. There will be increasing such activity in the biofuels space -- and that is just what we need. Read more →

The Common Denominator. Classic Not In My BackYard (NIMBY) situation. The nation’s first attempt to wed refueling of hydrogen-powered vehicles with a regular gas station is being met with increasing political opposition in the Northeast Washington neighborhood where the station is nearing completion. A group of about 50 residents who... Read more →