Mission New Energy Ltd, that listed as Mission Biofuels on May 4 2006, in December 2009 announced that Valero Energy, the largest US refiner has agreed to a 5 year deal with MBT to purchase biodiesel made from jatropha, supplying up to 60 million gallons of biodiesel a year, starting in 2010 (can be doubled with the contract extended an additional five years), with the value of the contract up to $A3.5 billion. Valero Inc also has an option to acquire up to 25% of MBT.

On April 20, 2009 MBT's wholly owned subsidiaryMission Biotechnologies Sdn Bhd (MBTSB) became the first biodiesel manufacturer in the world to receive attestation under the German Government supported International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Project.

Germany is the world's largest market for biodiesel and will require that all biodiesel used in the country from 1st January 2010 has to be compliant with new sustainability laws. The rest of Europe will be required to adopt the same compliance procedure by 2011..

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Destiny's Tot: China Natural Gas. For four days in September my son Brian and I attended the 500
company conference of Rodman & Renshaw at the New York Palace Hotel. We caught up on old friends
and listened to many unfamiliar new ideas. In our sister Flaherty Financial News Newsletters we will
share some of our insights about the conditions around our globe and naturally spotlight individual
stocks.

One presentation filled me with unexpected pleasure. Back in September 2006 I did my last Equities
Special Situation (#530) as I retired as editor of Equities Special Situations, exiting after over 25 years. I
wanted my final pick to be a homerun. So I chose very daring one, my first China stock ever, China
Natural Gas. Then it was a tiny unknown start-up on the OTC Bulletin Board selling at $3. Now destiny's
tot has grown up a bit and has a listing on Nasdaq (CHNG-11.09) and recently was up 270% down from
500%. Best of all, this emerging growth company in China is just getting started.

Our August Flaherty Special Situation on Dan Lufkin's Electro-Optical Sciences (Nasdaq: MELA-9.09)
is up nicely at 25% and some unknown short sellers are in retreat. Our earlier June Tri-Valley Corp
(NYSE Amex-2.51) was recently up over 100% and also has some short sellers on the run. But what
have we done for you lately?

Now let us swing for the fences with another unknown contrarian pick. Out of all the companies I met at
the R&R conference I chose first for a new recommendation Mission NewEnergy Limited (Australian
Stock Exchange ASX: MBT). It is my first Australian-based special situation for this newsletter and it
has major operations in India and other Malaysia. This start-up has experienced management which has
looked at and understood the errors of North American biofuel producers and turned that losing business
model upside down to create spectacular potential growth and profits. The goal of a Flaherty Special
Situation is a gain of 50% to 100% over two years. We believe patient investors can even do much better
than that with our new choice.

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - Air New Zealand on Tuesday successfully flew a test flight powered by second-generation biofuel, and hailed it as a "significant milestone" in the development of sustainable fuels for aircraft.

The airline used a 50-50 blend of standard jet fuel and synthetic fuel made from the oil of jatropha plant seeds to power one of the engines on a Boeing 747 during a two-hour test flight.

It was the world's first test flight using jatropha biofuel and followed a Virgin Atlantic test flight earlier in the year using a blend including coconut oil and babassu nut oil.  

We undertook a range of tests on the ground and in flight with the jatropha biofuel performing well through both the fuel system and engine," Air New Zealand chief pilot Dave Morgan said.

Further analysis of the Rolls-Royce engine and fuel systems will now be conducted as the airline works to have jatropha certified as an aviation fuel.

The test flight was a joint venture involving Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell company UOP, with support from Terasol Energy.

Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said the completion of the flight was "a significant milestone" towards becoming an "environmentally sustainable airline."

Prime Minister John Key, who is also tourism minister, described the flight as a "historic day for aviation," noting that the fortunes of Air New Zealand and New Zealand's tourism industry were closely tied.

Biofuels are seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels but critics are opposed to turning farmland over to the cultivation of biofuel at the expense of food crops.

Nine airlines, aircraft maker Boeing Co and Universal Oil Products have signed a charter on bio-fuel that contains joint commitments for the development, certification and use of bio-fuels, which has been drawn up in cooperation with organisations such as WWF and the NRDC, Airline Industry Information reports. The airlines have committed to using only bio-fuels from renewable resources.

The nine airlines are Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Cargolux, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic Airways, PR Newswire reports. Collectively, they account for approximately 15% of commercial jet fuel use.

The group has announced two initial sustainability research projects - peer-reviewed, comprehensive sustainability assessment of Jatropha, which will be funded by Boeing and a comprehensive assessment of algae to ensure it meets the group's stringent sustainability criteria.

According to the WWF Global Bioenergy Co-ordinator and Steering Board Member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, by teaming up with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels , "the aviation sector can build on an existing solid multi-stakeholder process that will reinforce this initiative,' Middle East Company News reports.

Sustainability is an all-encompassing, hard-to-define term that is acquiring fuller meaning for the palm oil industry as it prepares to ship the first certified sustainable palm oil to European Markets.

Palm oil gas taken the lead in world production of vegetable oils in recent years and is now poised to lead in another area. It is the first commodity to develop a certification program to meet the emerging market demand for sustainable production. This concept is not new to the food industry - certification systems have existed for years in niche markets such as organic, kosher and halal. Certified sustainable palm oil is charting new territory for commodity crops, however, by expanding the areas of concern far beyond environmentally friendly production practices to include corporate social responsibility and conservation of natural resources and biodiversity.

To read more please visit the Biodiesel Magazine website by clicking here.

KL Process Design Group (KL) has announced its cellulosic ethanol plant is operational, making it the first scale waste wood commercial facility in the US.

The plant, located in Wyoming, is the result of six years of development efforts between KL and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

KL is using proprietary technologies and newly developed enzymes. 'In our experience with enzymes and ethanol production, we have incorporated proven technologies that have been used for years in other industries, 'Dave Litzen, VP of process engineering for KL, comments. 'Through these processes, we are releasing fermentable sugars hidden within the wood, without the use of environmentally unfriendly acids.'

KL expects that its cellulosic technology, on combination with new applied design concepts, will allow the plants to match the amount and type of feedstock available near large cities, further reducing the fuel's carbon footprint.

The production facility is using soft woods, but successful test runs have made use of waste materials such as cardboard and papers.

KL's advanced Biofuels plants will also produce excess electricity and/or steam heat that can provide additional power sources for local municipalities or biofuel plants and manufacturing facilities.

In Germany, automotive manufacturer Daimler, agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and biotechnology company Bayer Crop Science, have announced a project to develop production and quality standards for jatropha-based biodiesel.

Bayer CropScience intends to develop herbicides, insecticides and fungicides for Jatropha cultivators, while ADM's interest results from its biodiesel production operations. Daimler is exploring the potential of jatropha biodiesel as an automotive fuel.

The word "sustainability" is no longer a catchphrase but a global market requirement for the palm oil industry. ??"The world now demands palm oil that is certified and produced sustainably," said Peter Chin Fah Kui, the Malaysian minister of plantation commodities and industries, in his opening address at the International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference on April 14 in Sabah, Malaysia. "The challenges created by globalization and the increased demand for natural resources call for additional and different types of intervention. Collaboration between the different actors and stakeholders targeting a balance between sustainable production, trade and consumption is a key element in innovative approaches, and how this will impact the environment."