Cathay Pacific invests in sustainable biojet fuel developer

Cathay Pacific Airways has made a strategic equity investment in Fulcrum, which is a world pioneer in the development and commercialisation of converting municipal solid waste into sustainable aviation fuel or “biojet fuel.” Cathay Pacific also has an option for further investment.

Cathay Pacific has also negotiated a long-term supply agreement with Fulcrum for an initial 375 million US gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over 10 years (representing on an annual basis approximately 2% of the airline’s current fuel consumption) that meets all the airline’s specifications. Fulcrum plans to commence construction of its first commercial plant later this year and to build large scale, waste-to-renewable jet fuel plants primarily in North America.

Source/ read more: Cathay Pacific

IEA task 37 "Biogas" - newsletter is online

The IEA task 37 "Energy from Biogas" has released its laters newsletter with a number of contributions about the biogas use in the transport sector.

Download the newsetter

Greenhouse Gas Estimation from American Farms

America’s farm, ranch and forest managers are stewards of the land, and have long recognized the significance of managing soil health, plant productivity and animal nutrition. Conservation practices and other management changes can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase carbon storage while improving soil health, crop or livestock productivity, and resilience to drought and other extreme weather. This report lays out methods for estimating changes in GHG emissions and carbon storage at a local scale. The methods in the report will be used to develop user-friendly tools for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and other USDA stakeholders to help them evaluate the GHG benefits of a wide variety of management practices. Therefore the publication is also a main document for sustainable biofuels.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture

Forest naturalness indicator for Europe

European forests are a complex mosaic of conditions, constantly influenced by internal dynamics and external pressures determined by natural and anthropogenic factors. This report documents the first steps for the development of a forest naturalness indicator for Europe. An enhanced European HNV forest indicator and its corresponding map will enable us to gain better insight into the current status and extent of forest naturalness, and will allow for further analyses on spatial and time trends

Source/ download full report: European Environment Agency

26th International AVL Conference "Engine & Environment"

11/12 September 2014, Graz

ENGINE 2020: SPARK VERSUS COMPRESSION IGNITION IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT

Further optimization of the combustion engines is an essential key for achieving the CO2 ambitions. During this conference the potentials of diesel and spark ignition engines will be compared and discussed. The impact of hybridization and connectivity on the design and configuration of combustion engines is another focal topic.

How shall the combustion engine, within the increasingly sophisticated powertrain systems, be designed to meet the future market requirements efficiently? How does the engine change in an environment of increasing electrification? In which markets and vehicle segments will the spark ignition or the diesel engine win or lose? Which role will alternative fuels take on in the future?

Programme and Registration

Butamax and Highwater Ethanol Break Ground on Biobutanol Project

Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, a biobutanol technology company, and Highwater Ethanol LLC, a producer of first generation ethanol, have begun to retrofit a ethanol plant in Minnesota for the production of biobutanol. The Butamax technology package will include the installation of novel corn oil separation technology. Butamax and Highwater have entered into definitive agreements for license of Butamax’s corn oil separation technology, which is an integral part of a full retrofit to biobutanol production.

Source: Butamax