The main activity of Biofuels is the large scale production and exploitation of biodiesel and glycerine following the construction and commissioning of the initial plant.

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and, as an environmentally friendly product, can make a significant contribution towards reducing green house gases and meeting Kyoto targets.



RNS's from BFC can be viewed at:

http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/index?search_type=3&words=bfc&go.x=17&go.y=8

http://www.biofuelscorp.com/

Jams ahead for carmakers


Financial Times, 27 June 2005 - The automotive industry is possibly the most global industry there is, with almost 60m cars and light trucks sold in 2003. In the UK alone, it contributes Pounds 8.4bn added value to the economy, according to the Department for Trade and Industry.

But the big European and North American producers face massive structural problems, pensions deficits, overcapacity, mature markets and falling prices. With a few exceptions, notably Toyota and Honda, carmaking is just not profitable, says Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis of the Centre for Automotive Research. Despite the huge overall volumes, production of many individual models is well below 100,000 per year, "so they just don't make any money," he says. Carmakers will find some relief in the emerging demand from markets such as China, India and Indonesia, but ultimately "they have to start making different types of car", says Dr Nieuwenhuis.

Carmakers must also face up to the challenges of rising oil prices and their products' contribution to air pollution and global warming. Regulatory threats include the EU's end of life vehicles directive, Brussels' emissions trading scheme and congestion charging schemes such as that introduced in London.

A report by Merrill Lynch and the World Resources Institute released earlier this month says: "The global need to address energy security concerns and the impact of climate change on the earth's environment is intensifying pressure on the auto industry to create vehicles with higher fuel economy and lower emissions."

The industry has a number of options, according to the report. These are:

* Create new vehicle types (hybrids such as the Prius)

* Modify traditional vehicles with alternative power sources (hybrid, diesel, hydrogen internal combustion engine etc.)

* Develop new technologies to enhance existing engines and transmissions

* Improve exhaust treatment

* Design lighter vehicle structures

* Shift production toward smaller vehicles.

These trends are going to work in favour of some manufacturers more than others - Ford and GM's focus on SUVs has put them at a disadvantage, while Honda and Toyota's focus on hybrids has left them well-placed.

In the long term, hydrogen fuel cells are seen as the answer to the industry's pollution problems, as they only emit water. However, there are still problems with how to produce the hydrogen and the lack of a hydrogen delivery infrastructure.

As a result, fuel cell-powered cars are unlikely to be on the road until 2020, and will not be widespread until the 2050s, according to Steven Blackman, head of Ernst & Young's automotive unit.

In the meantime, flavour of the month are hybrid cars, which have both electric batteries and a petrol engine, making the car more fuel-efficient and reducing emissions. While Toyota's Prius leads the way, several other hybrid cars are on or coming to market, and Merrill Lynch suggests Hyundai is also well-placed to capitalise on demand for hybrids.

But in the short term, refining existing technologies is a more fruitful way of cutting emissions. These "incremental" technologies are relatively unsung, says Duncan Austin, of Generation Investment Management, but they generate a relatively quick payback.

Companies well-placed in this sector include Borg Warner, a US parts company that derives 70 per cent of its revenues from fuel efficiency products, and Magna International, which has a technology for creating stronger, lighter vehicle bodies.

Ibiden, of Japan, and France's Faureccia make filters that remove the particulates from diesel, and they are also predicted to benefit from the current investment climate, while Aisin Seiki, a Japanese parts maker, is well placed in incremental technologies such as variable valve timing.

Another promising area is in alternative fuels. Biofuels can be added to petrol or diesel engines as a 5 per cent blend with little or no alteration needed in engines or petrol pumps. There is little technical difficulty in running vehicles entirely on biofuels - indeed in Sweden, two-thirds of orders for the new Saab 95 are for the version that runs on 85 per cent bioethanol derived from sugar cane, according to Charles Burt of Olive SRM, a strategic risk consultancy.

As with fuel cells, there is no infrastructure in place. However, a scheme in the north east of the UK, One Green Route, is developing a network of branded forecourts to sell biodiesel to private motorists. There is also great potential for vehicles that can be fuelled at depots, such as council vehicles, buses and commercial vehicles in specialised applications such as airports.

Companies hoping to benefit from moves towards alternative fuels include Biofuels Corp, which floated last year and raised an additional Pounds 32.7m earlier this year. It plans a biodiesel processing plant up and running by September. D1, another biodiesel group that listed on the Alternative Investment Market last October, estimates that by 2010, EU demand for the fuel will be 10.5bn litres. Meanwhile, British Sugar, facing EU reforms that will slash sugar prices, is planning the first bioethanol plant in the UK.

http://www.sustain-online.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?MenuId=1&ClickMenu=&doOpen=1&type=DocDet&ObjectId=MTU2MDM

wilbs

Great post wilbs- Investment in new energies, alternative fuels, etc is a must, regardless of profitability.
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com//050628/323/fm62l.html

Anyone know if there is any research, plans or legislation to do with aircraft using renewable fuels - that must be an enormous market to persuade to use DOO's jatropha beans processed by BFC's plant.

sd

Soya-powered planes promise greener air travel
09:45 26 March 2004
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
Anil Ananthaswamy
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Bernard Tao, Purdue University
David Wardle, University of Auckland
American Chemical Society meeting, Anaheim
Soya oil is just the thing to give aviation fuel a greener future, believe a group of US biochemists.

They say that an aircraft fuel based on soya oil and traditional jet fuel will slash consumption of fossil fuel, and help slow the rise in greenhouse gas levels by using carbon from renewable sources. They will tell a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California, next week how it can be done.

Commercial jets run on a petroleum fuel called Jet A. Like all fossil fuels, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burnt. Biofuels like soya oil, on the other hand, are "carbon neutral" because the carbon they release came from the atmosphere only recently.

Meanwhile air traffic is a growing contributor to global warming. In 2002 the UK's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution predicted that air travel could account for nearly 75 per cent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"If further research fails to dispel current concerns, then, at some stage, commercial aviation is going to need a completely different fuel," says David Wardle, a fuels expert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. And, he says, biofuel blends could be one answer.

Stumbling block
So far, attempts to create a suitable fuel from blends of jet fuel and vegetable oils have been unsuccessful. One stumbling block is the requirement that aviation fuel stays liquid down to -40 degrees Celsius. Vegetable oils generally freeze at around zero degrees Celsius.

But now biochemist Bernard Tao of Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, and his graduate student Shailendra Bist have developed a blend that freezes at -40 degrees Celsius.

They convert fatty acids within the oil into volatile, combustible esters, some of which freeze at higher temperatures and some at lower temperatures.

"Remove the components that freeze at higher temperatures, and you will be left with something that will freeze at low temperatures," says Bist. It is here that they have made the breakthrough.

Crystallised solids
The standard method of removing unwanted esters involves chilling the biofuel and removing any crystallised solids. Repeat this at ever lower temperatures and you create a fuel with a very low freezing point.

But the process can take days, and is wasteful because desirable esters "co-crystallise" out with the unwanted ones. Yields can be as low as 25 per cent.

Tao's team has developed a similar fractionation technology that takes less than an hour and has yields as high as 80 per cent. They are unwilling to discuss details pending a patent filing, but say they can now make a 40 per cent blend of biofuel and 60 per cent Jet A with the right freezing properties.

It is the highest percentage ever reported, says Wardle. The fuel is now being tested on a turbo-prop engine to assess its emissions.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4813

wilbs

Flying the A380 using chip fat must be light years away.

wilbs - very interesting, you old anorak you!

thanks sd. I like to help an old dog when I can.

woof!

Wilbs, do you know when full year resuts are out ? .

I have just called they jimmy and they are out 14th july.
wilbs

Cheers wilbs , im in ...

Nice one jimmy. Hopefully you will be rewarded soon.

Wilbs i just bought the company !

They wern't you 87 shares were they jimmy? That doesn't value the company at much!!!
Are you sure you have not been throwing you money down the toilet?

Starting to tick up now wilbs !

Its looking good but seen this before with BFC, it suddenly drops.

NUMIS BUY NOTE

Please see below for the Numis summary on their note today on BFC.


* Biofuels is in the final stage of constructing one of Europe> '> s
> largest
biodiesel refineries in northern England. When operational, the plant will convert raw vegetable oils into around 262,500 tonnes per annum of biodiesel, which is predominantly blended with mineral diesel to improve the latter> '> s environmental qualities.
> * Both UK and European governments see biofuels playing an integral
> role in
reducing CO2 levels and the dependence of the transport sector on fossil fuels.
Although Biofuels will depend on subsidies to survive in the near-term, we are confident that governments are working towards a long-term support structure for the industry.
> * Against this positive outlook, the company has performed poorly.
Construction delays, cost overruns and a flawed hedging arrangement triggered a sharp fall in the share price from 300p to 100p currently. In response, the management team has been strengthened, and the refinery is on track for full production from the end of Sept 2005.
> * There is considerable uncertainty over the near-term outlook. With
> just
three months to full production, only 30% of plant capacity has been sold, and there are fears that hedge payments and further construction delays could result in serious funding problems.
> * We believe that this negative backdrop is obscuring the underlying
opportunity, and are confident that management can sell the remaining output of the first plant. Our forecasts imply that one plant, at full output, can generate EPS of 43.7p, placing the company on a PER of 2.3x. A DCF analysis on one plant, with conservative assumptions, implies a target price of 180p and drives our Buy recommendation. However, we believe demand is likely to underpin the construction of a second plant, which would entail significant upgrades to forecasts and a re-rating of the shares.

Nice one marketmaker.
Pic updated at top.

That would be nice..