Used cooking oil (UCO) poses risk to Canadian canola

Biofuels produced from waste cooking oil imported from China threaten Canada’s domestic canola market, an industry executive says, according to a report in Canada’s Western Producer.

‘It’s a big deal,’ said Chris Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association. The association represents most of Canada’s crushers.

He says, ‘It could displace a lot of the demand that we need going into the very murky year of 2025 and beyond.’

Wewart called it a ‘very big risk’ for Canada’s canola industry, undermining what had been expected to be a huge market diversification opportunity for the crop.

For every one million tonnes of renewable fuel made from waste cooking oil (UCO) consumed in Canada, 2.5 million tonnes of canola is displaced, the report says.

HD Hyundai Oilbank Expands Biofuel Portfolio

The Korea Times reports that HD Hyundai Oilbank’s biofuels business is achieving important milestones to meet increasingly sophisticated market demand.

The refinery said it completed Korea’s first biodiesel plant using supercritical fluid technology in April and is now in commercial operation. The plant reportedly aims to produce 130,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year.

The company blends biodiesel into diesel products for sale to the domestic market to comply with South Korea’s renewable fuel blending obligation. This year’s regulations call for a blending ratio of 4 per cent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from last year.

HD Hyundai Oilbank said it is also looking at plans to build a dedicated SAF production facility using hydrogenated vegetable oil in 2027.

Fastmarkets and Intercontinental Exchange launch UCO futures contract

Fastmarkets and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced on 9 December the launch of the ICE Waste Cooking Oil (UCO) Gulf (Fastmarkets) futures contract to meet growing demand and address the complexities of the biofuel feedstock market.

The launch provides market participants with a new risk management solution in the renewable energy sector.

Fastmarkets says it is ideal for those who wish to understand UCO price movements without the need for physical delivery.

Fastmarkets said its assessment of UCO in the US Gulf of Mexico reflects the main market areas for UCO trade, capturing the broadest pool of data required for accurate market pricing.

This ensures convergence between futures and spot prices at contract expiry, further enhancing confidence in the operation of the market, Fastmarkets said.

Vehicle fleet replaced with HVO

UK freight company Chamberlain Transport has converted its local Palletforce collection and delivery vehicles to run on Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) supplied by Certas Energy.

With this change, the family-owned business expects to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 150 tonnes (150,000 kg) per year.
Transport plans to use the first six months of the partnership to trial HVO before considering expanding its fleet to 40 vehicles.

Airlines rarely switch to sustainable fuels, report says (SAF)

Only 10 of the world’s 77 airlines have made significant progress in transitioning to truly sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), while 87 per cent have failed to take this step, according to a newly released ranking by Transport & Environment (T&E).

The majority of companies are underperforming in their use of sustainable fuels, or even failing to incorporate SAF into their carbon reduction programmes at all.

GCMD Partners with VPS to Fingerprint FAME

In Singapore, the shipping industry is increasingly using biofuels such as fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). However, concerns have arisen about the legality of biofuels and whether they are truly sustainable.

Industry bodies have found a growing number of cases of mislabelling of biofuels purportedly made from recycled fats and oils, while suspicions remain that these biofuels may be made from cheaper, less sustainable virgin oils.

To address these issues, FAME fingerprint recognition can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in the bunker supply chain and ensure the authenticity of biofuels. By providing a physical verification method that complements existing certification schemes, FAME Fingerprint Recognition can help demonstrate that the Green Premium has real environmental benefits and maintain the integrity of the bunker supply chain.

FAME fingerprinting is based on the principle that the fatty acid profile of a FAME is unique to its feedstock and can be retained during the esterification of the feedstock to produce the FAME. The ‘fingerprint’ can then be compared to a database of known fatty acid profiles to identify the source of the feedstock.
GCMD, in collaboration with VPS, modified an existing fuel testing method to analyse samples using a gas chromatograph with flame ionisation detection, a common instrument in fuel testing laboratories.

Phillips 66 feedstock for United Airlines SAF

Phillips 66 announced on 5 December that it has signed an agreement with United Airlines for Phillips 66 to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to United Airlines at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), helping to advance the development of low-carbon fuels in Illinois and California.

Phillips 66 will supply 3 million gallons of SAF to United Airlines for use at ORD.

The agreement includes the possibility of increasing the supply to 8 million gallons by the first half of 2025.

Phillips 66 will deliver an initial 600,000 gallons of SAF to United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport by the end of 2024.

Germany under pressure to tackle palm oil-based biofuel imports

The German government is under pressure to stop imports of contaminated Chinese biofuels that threaten local industries.

A loose coalition of German biofuel makers, environmentalists and lawmakers want the government to set up a system of inspections and sanctions by 1 January to stem the tide of palm oil-blended biofuels.

Germany and the European Union banned the use of palm oil as a biofuel as early as 2023, while imports of biofuels from waste feedstocks have soared.

USDA: US biodiesel exports down sharply to 18,718 metric tonnes in October

The US exported 18,718 metric tonnes of B30 or higher biodiesel and biodiesel blends in October, according to data released by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service on 5 December. Biodiesel imports for the month reached 70,228.9 metric tonnes.

Biodiesel exports in October were 18,718 metric tonnes, down from 67,675.3 metric tonnes exported in September and 63,518.4 metric tonnes exported in October 2023.

Imports of B30 or higher grade biodiesel and biodiesel blends in October were 70,228.9 metric tonnes, down from 88,055.9 metric tonnes in September and 165,370.9 metric tonnes in October last year.

Biodiesel industry will close if tax credits are not extended

Congress must extend the long-term biodiesel blenders tax credit (BTC) in response to published reports that the U.S. Treasury and IRS are unlikely to issue guidance governing the implementation of the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit, also known as 45Z, before the end of the year, fuel retailers associations NATSO and SIGMA said.

The organisation said the extension of the biodiesel tax credit will act as a bridge until the new Trump administration and the 119th Congress are able to address long-term tax policy in 2025.

Without guidance, fuel producers will not be able to take advantage of the 45Z credit in the coming year.

NATSO and SIGMA said, ‘The biodiesel industry will effectively shut down, which will lead to higher fuel prices and increased emissions.’

The association said, ‘Extending the $1 per gallon biodiesel blender tax credit will allow fuel retailers to continue to reduce carbon emissions while lowering fuel prices.’