Danish Novozymes and Italian Beta Renewables join forces in cellulosic biofuel projects
In Denmark and Italy, Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, and Beta Renewables, a global leader in cellulosic biofuels and part of Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi, announced an agreement to jointly market, demonstrate and guarantee cellulosic biofuel solutions. As part of the agreement, Novozymes will acquire a 10% share in Beta Renewables, paying
Petrol from water and air, sense and nonsense
Recently, newspapers and TV abound with reports on scientists who produce fuels like petrol and diesel oil from carbon dioxide and water. Sometimes with sensational headings like in The Independent, 19 October: ‘Exclusive: Pioneering scientists turn fresh air into petrol in massive boost in fight against energy crisis’. But exactly, how revolutionary is this process?
Biofuels without agro
They were awarded many prizes for their innovative technology. New Zealand’s LanzaTech owns an entire fleet of bacteria, fit to process industrial waste gases and waste products directly into biofuels and chemical building blocks. Sean Simpson, the company’s CSO, highlights his company’s cooperation with Chinese steel industries in jet fuel production from carbon monoxide: ‘Growing
Against the plastic soup
‘Look, this is the picture which made me decide to do something about it,’ says Peter Smith, a photographer living in Amsterdam. ‘Which river do you think this is?’ ‘The Maas.’ The picture was taken by Peter Driessen in the neighbourhood of Maastricht, early 2010. ‘Why does nobody do something about it?’ was Peters first
Innovative Dutch chemical industry in a Northwest-European cluster
Sorry, this article on Dutch innovation policy is only available in Dutch.
Staatsbosbeheer: wood is competitive
‘Wood is competitive for heating purposes, the alternative being natural gas (at the retail price for residential heating) or fuel oil,’ says Zwier van Olst. ‘District heating is an excellent market for locally produced wood. Recently, we agreed on a long-term contract for district heating in Purmerend (in the Dutch province of North Holland); for
Long live Europe: seven trends which will carry us through the crisis
Europe appears to be in a bad state. Poverty and unemployment are on the rise, the rich and the poor grow apart, the financial system is out of control. In the long run countries like China and India tend to outstrip Europe, and the US will not come to the rescue. Yet, Europe is resourceful
The biobased society in the Dutch coalition agreement
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on: 31 October 2012