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    Spanish company Ferry Group is to invest €42/US$55.2 million in a project for the production of biomass fuel pellets in Bulgaria. The 3-year project consists of establishing plantations of paulownia trees near the city of Tran. Paulownia is a fast-growing tree used for the commercial production of fuel pellets. Dnevnik - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Hungary's BHD Hõerõmû Zrt. is to build a 35 billion Forint (€138/US$182 million) commercial biomass-fired power plant with a maximum output of 49.9 MW in Szerencs (northeast Hungary). Portfolio.hu - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Tonight at 9pm, BBC Two will be showing a program on geo-engineering techniques to 'save' the planet from global warming. Five of the world's top scientists propose five radical scientific inventions which could stop climate change dead in its tracks. The ideas include: a giant sunshade in space to filter out the sun's rays and help cool us down; forests of artificial trees that would breath in carbon dioxide and stop the green house effect and a fleet futuristic yachts that will shoot salt water into the clouds thickening them and cooling the planet. BBC News - Feb. 19, 2007.

    Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, is planning to open a biodiesel plant in Indonesia with Wilmar International Ltd. this year and a wholly owned biodiesel plant in Brazil before July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Brazil plant is expected to be the nation's largest, the paper said. Worldwide, the company projects a fourfold rise in biodiesel production over the next five years. ADM was not immediately available to comment. Reuters - Feb. 16, 2007.

    Finnish engineering firm Pöyry Oyj has been awarded contracts by San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. to provide services for the first bioethanol plant in the Philippines. The aggregate contract value is EUR 10 million. The plant is to be build in the Province of San Carlos on the north-eastern tip of Negros Island. The plant is expected to deliver 120,000 liters/day of bioethanol and 4 MW of excess power to the grid. Kauppalehti Online - Feb. 15, 2007.

    In order to reduce fuel costs, a Mukono-based flower farm which exports to Europe, is building its own biodiesel plant, based on using Jatropha curcas seeds. It estimates the fuel will cut production costs by up to 20%. New Vision (Kampala, Uganda) - Feb. 12, 2007.

    The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to use 10% biodiesel in its fleet of public buses. The world's largest city is served by the Toei Bus System, which is used by some 570,000 people daily. Digital World Tokyo - Feb. 12, 2007.

    Fearing lack of electricity supply in South Africa and a price tag on CO2, WSP Group SA is investing in a biomass power plant that will replace coal in the Letaba Citrus juicing plant which is located in Tzaneen. Mining Weekly - Feb. 8, 2007.

    In what it calls an important addition to its global R&D capabilities, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to build a new bioenergy research center in Hamburg, Germany. World Grain - Feb. 5, 2007.

    EthaBlog's Henrique Oliveira interviews leading Brazilian biofuels consultant Marcelo Coelho who offers insights into the (foreign) investment dynamics in the sector, the history of Brazilian ethanol and the relationship between oil price trends and biofuels. EthaBlog - Feb. 2, 2007.

    The government of Taiwan has announced its renewable energy target: 12% of all energy should come from renewables by 2020. The plan is expected to revitalise Taiwan's agricultural sector and to boost its nascent biomass industry. China Post - Feb. 2, 2007.

    Production at Cantarell, the world's second biggest oil field, declined by 500,000 barrels or 25% last year. This virtual collapse is unfolding much faster than projections from Mexico's state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos. Wall Street Journal - Jan. 30, 2007.

    Dubai-based and AIM listed Teejori Ltd. has entered into an agreement to invest €6 million to acquire a 16.7% interest in Bekon, which developed two proprietary technologies enabling dry-fermentation of biomass. Both technologies allow it to design, establish and operate biogas plants in a highly efficient way. Dry-Fermentation offers significant advantages to the existing widely used wet fermentation process of converting biomass to biogas. Ame Info - Jan. 22, 2007.

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is to build a biofuel production plant in the tribal belt of Banswara, Rajasthan, India. The petroleum company has acquired 20,000 hectares of low value land in the district, which it plans to commit to growing jatropha and other biofuel crops. The company's chairman said HPCL was also looking for similar wasteland in the state of Chhattisgarh. Zee News - Jan. 15, 2007.

    The Zimbabwean national police begins planting jatropha for a pilot project that must result in a daily production of 1000 liters of biodiesel. The Herald (Harare), Via AllAfrica - Jan. 12, 2007.

    In order to meet its Kyoto obligations and to cut dependence on oil, Japan has started importing biofuels from Brazil and elsewhere. And even though the country has limited local bioenergy potential, its Agriculture Ministry will begin a search for natural resources, including farm products and their residues, that can be used to make biofuels in Japan. To this end, studies will be conducted at 900 locations nationwide over a three-year period. The Japan Times - Jan. 12, 2007.

    Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched an arrogant attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their attitudes to global warming, calling the Stern Review 'dubious'. The remarks illustrate the yawning gap between opinions on climate change among Europeans and Americans, but they also strengthen the view that announcements by US car makers and legislators about the development of green vehicles are nothing more than window dressing. Today, the EU announced its comprehensive energy policy for the 21st century, with climate change at the center of it. BBC News - Jan. 10, 2007.

    The new Canadian government is investing $840,000 into BioMatera Inc. a biotech company that develops industrial biopolymers (such as PHA) that have wide-scale applications in the plastics, farmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Plant-based biopolymers such as PHA are biodegradable and renewable. Government of Canada - Jan. 9, 2007.


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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Malaysia opens second biofuels terminal


Last month, Malaysia's Sabah State government officially opened a first biofuels and palm oil processing hub called the 'Palm Oil Industrial Cluster' (POIC) in Malaysia's largest palm producing province, located on the island of Borneo (see earlier post). Today, Johor State opened a second bioterminal at the port of Tanjung Langsat. In total, Malaysia has granted 52 biodiesel production licences, amounting to a virtual production capacity of over five million tonnes per year (31 million barrels).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who opened the biofuel hub with its 480ha industrial park sums up the advantages of the terminal:
  • the port's strategic location at the centre of Asia's main shipping lanes
  • the fact that the biofuels hub is located in Johor State, which is one of the largest palm producing regions in the country
  • the abundance of highly skilled and lower skilled labor
  • the existence of a well functioning logistical infrastructure
All these factors make the bioterminal at Tanjung Langsat a good candidate to become South-East Asia's main biofuels exporting zone. Moreover, the development of this hub means a boost to the local economy.

So far, the biofuel terminal has attracted a total investment of more than RM8.3 billion (€1.7billion/US$2.3 billion), including foreign direct investment, with the following companies having set up factories and facilities:
  • Carotino Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the J.C. Chang Group, has constructed the first fully functional biodiesel plant. Carotino is the first company in the world to have successfully commercialised the technology for the production of low pour point palm biodiesel that can be used in cold northern climates (Europe, North America). The plant's production potential is 60,000 tons of tropical biodiesel and 30,000 tons of 'winterised' biodiesel.
  • JCorp, which has invested a total of RM400 million (€84 million/US$109 million) of which RM160 million (€34 million/US$43 million) has been spent on port facilities, land development and other infrastructure support facilities. JCorp's subsidiary Kulim (M) Bhd is to build a biodiesel factory.
  • Tanjung Langsat Port Bhd which is constructing a petroleum refinery, which will have a capacity to store 100,000 tonnes of diesel at its initial stage.
  • A joint-venture between Felda-Johore Bulkers Sdn Bhd and JCorp, called Langsat Bulkers Sdn Bhd, will set-up a RM23 million (€4.9 million/US$6.2 million) tank to store biodiesel for the first of several phases of the project. The tank which was specially designed for handling cargo biodiesel has a capacity of 20,000 tons and will be constructed by a joint-venture firm between Kulim and German firm CremerOleo GmbH.
  • IOI Corp Bhd which is constructing a biodiesel plant - no news about the total investment or capacity.
  • Six foreign companies have shown interest in building biodiesel factories at the terminal.
  • The Malaysian Palm Oil Board, which is a strategic partner in the project and which is building a knowledge infrastructure around the bioterminal.
Meanwhile, a series of elements in the logistical, processing and infrastructural chain are speeding up their transition to biofuels cargo handling: storage facilities, byproduct processing, transmixing facilities, pipeline management, additional rail and road construction.

More information:
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posted by Biopact team at 4:57 PM  

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