Todays Latest Updates: 24 September 2026

Biobased chemicals: Slovakia. Evonik has broken ground on a new biotechnology expansion project at its Fermas site in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia. This marks the next major milestone in the approximately EUR 80 million investment to expand Evonik’s biotechnology capabilities and strengthen its contract manufacturing services for the company’s drug substance business. The project is expected to be completed in early 2028. Link 24/09/2026.

Biogas: USA. Montauk Renewables, Inc celebrated the official opening of the company’s Turkey, NC facility. The project represents a $200 million capital investment and commitment to rural North Carolina. As of the end of August, Montauk Renewables had entered into long-term agreements with over 80 separate farming locations, providing  access to more than 415,000 of the hog spaces we are targeting for the first phase of development. Link 24/09/2026.

E-fuels: Germany. Uniper will buy 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) from a Danish project for over a decade under a binding deal. The volumes will come from Arcadia eFuels’ Project Endor in Vordingborg, Denmark, which aims to produce 80,000 tonnes of e-SAF from a 240MW electrolyser and biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Commercial deliveries are scheduled to begin in the early 2030s, representing a delay from the project's original 2025 timeline. The landmark contract is considered one of the largest eSAF offtake agreements recorded to date, providing Arcadia eFuels with the financial certainty needed to accelerate the construction and commissioning of the Danish facility. Link 24/09/2026

Hydrogen: New Zealand. The New Zealand Government has agreed to regulate white and orange hydrogen through the Natural Environment Act framework, providing a clearer pathway for industry to explore and develop the emerging resource. White hydrogen, also known as natural hydrogen, occurs naturally underground while orange hydrogen is produced through directed reactions of certain rock formations. Both are emerging internationally as potential lower-emissions sources of hydrogen for industrial processes, fertiliser and chemical production, fuel, and other hard-to-electrify sectors. Link 24/09/2026.

Policy: Germany. In Germany, government efforts to reduce exposure to oil supply disruptions by rapidly expanding biofuel use risk shifting pressure onto forests and food markets, according to new research from Chatham House conducted in partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Expanded biofuel mandates and targets could create 36 million hectares of additional cropland pressure by 2030 – an area roughly the size of Germany – increasing competition for land and crops, pushing up prices and heightening risks to forests and biodiversity. The land footprint of biofuel production could more than double. Around 32 million hectares were used to grow biofuel feedstocks in 2023. Global biofuel demand was already expected to require a further 20 million hectares by 2030. Under new expanded mandates and targets, additional demand could reach 36 million* hectares, bringing the total implied footprint to roughly 68 million hectares. Link 24/09/2026.