Malaysia Golden Hope to raise biodiesel capacity

13 September 2006 04:37  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Golden Hope Plantations has targetted to produce 550,000 tonnes/year of biodiesel by mid-2008 and identified major markets for export, sources in the Malaysian company said Wednesday.

To achieve the targetted capacity, the company has formed a number of joint ventures aimed at setting up plants.

Its latest was a joint venture with South Korean company, H-Plus Bio, to set up a biodiesel plant at Yeochun in South Korea by mid-2008, with a capacity to produce at least 150,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year, the sources added.

Palm oil based products will be used as the primary feedstock for the Korean plant. Last year, Malaysia produced 15m tonnes of palm oil products, of which 90% was exported.

The company sources identified Japan, Europe and the United States as the major markets for biodiesel.

"We see that would still be a gap in supply in Europe even though many plants are coming on stream there. So Europe would still be a significant market. Japanese market should be opening up especially when the Japanese biofuel policy is implemented," Anhar Suki, engineering director of Golden Hope, said.

"China is also a potential new market, so is the United States. India has a big interest in biofuels. Eventhough jatropha is being encouraged there it will be sometime before Jatropha will be available in large quantity," he said.

Golden Hope, which has already commissioned a 35,000 tonnes/year plant in Banting, Malaysia, made its first shipment to Japan earlier this month.

Among other plans, Golden Hope intends to commission a 60,000 tonnes/year unit in Malaysia’s Carey Island by April 2007, in collaboration with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

It is also forming a joint venture biodiesel plant - with the company holding the controlling stake - near the port of Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia, the sources added.

Meanwhile, discussions were ongoing with an European company to set up a biodiesel plant in Rotterdam, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year and an investment of $32 million, they said.

Both the Sarawak and Dutch plants were expected to be operational by December 2007.

Malaysia has four biodiesel plants at present, but licences for 52 plants have been approved by the government so far.

By: Shibu Itty Kuttickal
+65 6780 4359

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