Unite is calling on the Scottish government to ‘step in now’ as 75 jobs are at risk following Argent Energy’s announcement that it plans to close its biodiesel plant in Newarthill.  Green jobs setback The union responded to the latest green jobs setback in Scotland as Argent Energy confirmed its plans to mothball its North Lanarkshire plant by the 31 May following a brief consultation period, while its other plants in Ellesmere Port, England, and the port of Amsterdam, Holland, are set to remain open.  The company supplies biodiesel to Stagecoach England, Metroline buses in ..read more

Engineering and project management company, Kent, has announced that it has been awarded the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) contract for a groundbreaking initiative spearheaded by Fulcrum BioEnergy. Fulcrum’s NorthPoint project is designed to convert approximately 600,000 tonnes of pre-processed waste into 100 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Fulcrum BioEnergy, a US-based clean energy company, has chosen Kent for this crucial project. With a focus on developing projects to produce net-zero transport fuels from waste, Fulcrum has successfully built its first plant in the ..read more

Young Antrim artist, Charley Bell, a 17-year-old student at Methodist College Belfast, has been chosen as the overall winner of this year’s 70th Texaco Children’s Art Competition, taking first prize in the senior 16-18 years age category. Her winning work, for which she receives a prize of €1,500, is entitled ‘Anticipation’ and is a painstakingly detailed portrait study in coloured pencils. Aged serenity In choosing it as the winner, Final Adjudicator and Chairman of the judging panel, Gary Granville, Professor Emeritus of Education at the National College of Art and Design, described Charley ..read more

The Chemical Business Association (CBA), the voice of the chemical supply chain, recently held its renowned annual lunch. The event, well-known throughout the chemical industry as ‘Floggers Lunch,’ is a highlight of the chemical supply chain calendar. This year’s lunch also marked the successes of the Association’s year-long centenary celebrations. Member company representatives, together with special guests and industry leaders from around the globe – just short of 1,100 in total – gathered at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in London on April 24th. Attendees also included associates fr ..read more

Avioxx, a company born from the desire to transform waste hydrocarbons, destined for incineration or landfill, into high grade, sustainable aviation fuel, is proud to announce that they have secured major investment from Trailfinders. A spokesperson from Avioxx said: “This investment underscores Avioxx’s commitment to revolutionising production of sustainable aviation fuel and accelerating their mission to become leaders in harnessing the circular economy to achieve net-zero aviation. “The investment was led by Trailfinders, one of the UK’s leading independent travel companies, and saw enthusi ..read more

Welcome to April’s edition of our special monthly feature which gives you the opportunity to ‘meet’ an industry figure and, hopefully, to discover another side to them beyond the well-known facts. This month we chat with James Hunt, CEO at New Era Energy. “Invest in people; follow through with your word.” James Hunt Please give your career history in 25 words or fewer 2 years as a labourer, then sold chocolate (Nestle) and double glazing for 2 years, 26 years at New Era! Describe yourself in 3 words. Honest. Loyal. Driven. What were your childhood / early ambitions? To be a racing driver, of c ..read more

All the latest news from those involved in liquid fuel distribution. Jo Ritzema – celebrating 20 years with WCF! Jo Ritzema, Managing Director at WCF, is proud to be celebrating 20 years working for the business. Jo reflected on the last 20 years with the company: “It would not be an exaggeration to say the past 20 years have flown by. “No two weeks are ever the same at WCF, and I have been lucky enough to be part of a period of considerable change, not only in terms of the businesses we own and run, but the culture and engagement of our team. “Witnessing them embrace the concept of being empl ..read more

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Onroute Truckstops has just launched its new loyalty app, Onroute Extra. This generous scheme allows drivers to collect points on purchases made at any Onroute Truckstop, then redeem them in the cafe or shop, or convert them into Amazon vouchers. Online ordering The Onroute Extra app can be used to order food online, either using at-table ordering in the cafe, or pre-ordering your meal to collect at an agreed time. Drivers get 50% off their first app food order when they sign up and can start collecting points straight away. Points are awarded for money spent on fuel and AdBlue, parking and sh ..read more

The government has today published the details of its Sustainable aviation fuel mandate which will ensure ten per cent of all jet fuel on flights taking off from the UK comes from sustainable sources by 2030. Subject to parliamentary approval, the measures announced in the mandate, which will come into force in January 2025, are designed to ‘give UK aviation and the SAF industry the certainty to keep creating skilled British jobs while ensuring air travel is fit for the future’. It follows the world’s first commercial 100% SAF transatlantic flight which took off from Heathr ..read more