This year it was the 10th anniversary of the World Ethanol Conference organised by F.O. Light. It was an edition with again a record number of +700 participants. It shows that this industry has all the attention it deserves.

During the conference a number of important issues have been raised and discussed, such as food for fuel, European production vs Brazilian and adoption of biofuels in the global gasoline market. All important issues, that influence the speed of development of this market. For this reason the industry associations came with the following statement:

The US RFA, CRFA, Unica and eBio have come together to issue a statement at the end of the Amsterdam World Ethanol Conference that says renewable fuels must be a central component of a global strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, mitigate the impact of world climate change and provide economic opportunities to citizens in all countries, a joint press release reports.

Not only should the world move quickly to produce bio-fuels in view of oil prices close to US$100 per barrel, but unlike any other fuel in history, the world ethanol industry is contributing to a more sustainable ethanol future, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Pointing to the promise of making ethanol from non-food sources such as grasses and bagasse, ethanol also offers the prospect of enhanced rural development.

The industry is clearly committed to invest further in technology and production expansion to establish a strond base in the global fuel markets.

Vopak expressed parallel to the conference its committment to the industry as well. In the next 1,5 years, Vopak will considerably expand their ethanol hub in Rotterdam offering an additional 200.000 cbm to the market. On Wednesday evening Vopak's ethanol team gave a cocktail drink to its customers in The Mansion which was attended by more people than expected. It was a Great Green Party!