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Finnish firm Neste has been selected as the leading biofuel operator at the 2016 Global Energy Awards. The company was chosen ahead of six other finalists.

The panel of judges was said to have been impressed by the company's NEXBTL Renewable Diesel technology - recently rebranded as Neste Renewable Diesel, which enables the production of renewable diesel and other renewable products from nearly any waste fat or vegetable oil through a hydrogen-based treatment.

Neste Renewable Diesel is classified as a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), and, according to Neste, can be blended in any combination with fossil diesel.

The panel was also said to be particularly inspired by the company's plans to start production of renewable propane at its Rotterdam refinery by the end of 2016.

Neste won praise for its commitment to sustainability and for its search for new solutions in order to develop its operations. The company's plan to increase biodiesel production capacity beyond the current annual volume of two million tonnes was also met positively by the judges.

The Global Energy Awards are now in their 18th year. The award ceremony took place in New York on 8th December.

Last month, the government of Finland confirmed that it plans to increase the percentage of biofuels blended in transportation fuel to 30 percent by 2030 in order to meet the country's emission reduction targets.

In June, Bunker Index reported that Neste had provided the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California with a a supply of NEXBTL Renewable Diesel during a year-long project that tested biofuel on the research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul.