Sustainable biofuels are now a reality

As increasing numbers of environmental and emissions targets are set by the Government and EU Commission, one company has claimed it can and is producing a truly sustainable biofuel.

This statement is in sharp contrast to comments made by George Monbiot who, writing in The Guardian this week, claimed apart from chip fat ‘there is no such thing as a sustainable biofuel’.

Regenatec who formed a partnership with CleanStar in October 2007 are quite convinced they can prove him and other sceptics wrong.

Quite simply the proof needed is of a working fuel system that works with existing vehicles and runs on fuel from plants grown ethically and sustainably, ideally on land that does not encroach on existing agricultural land.

This might seem like a tall order, but Regenatec director Mike Lawton, an engineer by trade was not deterred.

Mr Lawton was inspired to convert his car from a diesel to a pure plant oil car after numerous long distance journeys were costing him hundreds of pounds in fuel bills. He saved himself a substantial amount of money as well as reducing his carbon footprint by at least 80%, which is four times the government target for 2020.

Mr Lawton and his team at Regenatec, went on to develop the technology and applied it to trucks, buses and even boats. The technology can be fitted by one of Regenatec's approved fitting centres or, after training, can be fitted by a customer’s in-house mechanics. Regenatec also supply their commercial customers with bulk volumes of ethically sourced and sustainably produced plant oils such as rape seed oil and soya oil.

Using ethically sourced and sustainably produced soya and rape seed delivers significant benefits but they are still food crops. In October 2007 Regenatec joined forces with CleanStar, the producers of oil from a plant called Jatropha

The resultant organisation, known as RegenaStar, intends to be the first social, ethical and true sustainable biofuel business. RegenaStar combines the world class agro-biology skills of CleanStar with those of multi-award winning technology based Regenatec.

Jatrophia produces inedible oil and hence so far had not been cultivated. It likes to grow in arid climates, like India, Africa and the Middle East and thrives on uncultivated scrubland. Not only should it return wealth to some very poor parts of India, but it should also be cheaper than food based oils as well as deliver the carbon footprint reduction. 
SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Solicitor/ Barrister / Chartered Legal Executive Commercial & Contracts (x2)

Warwickshire County Council
£50,856 to £57,083 per annum
Warwickshire Legal Services (WLS) are looking for two qualified lawyers to join their award-winning, motivated, and nationally recognised legal team. Warwick
Recuriter: Warwickshire County Council

Head of Finance and Deputy s151 Officer

Conwy County Borough Council
£77,153 - £88,545
We are looking for an experienced and strategic financial leader who can operate confidently in a complex, political and fast-changing environment. Colwyn Bay, Conwy
Recuriter: Conwy County Borough Council

ICT Engineer Digital Squad

Durham County Council
£35,412 to £39,152 p.a. (Pay Award Pending)
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Microsoft 365 Team for an ICT Engineer (Microsoft 365). This role will support Durham County Council's B Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Storekeeper Driver

Durham County Council
£26,403 - £28,598
An opportunity has come up in Highways Services for a Storekeeper/Driver.  They will assist the Stores Supervisor in delivering a customer focussed St Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Care Support

Durham County Council
Grade 4 £25,583 - £26,824 (pay award pending)
We're recruiting to a permanent role within our Pathways Service, which delivers day services to adults with complex needs, Monday to Friday. There i Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner