|
First published in InFocus: Jatropha, a supplement to Cleantech magazine May 2008. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008 Dear Reader,
The debate over the use of food crops for fuel has contributed to a surge of interest in alternative biofuel feedstocks. The lead feature of the current issue of Cleantech magazine – “Agriculture: feeding (and fuelling?) the world” – addresses some of the issues surrounding the ‘food-fuel’ debate. This supplement focuses on jatropha, a plant which yields an alternative source of oil and has some clear advantages over other biofuel feedstocks.
Jatropha has rapidly established a niche for itself within the emerging biofuel industry. Investors in jatropha to date have included large multinational corporations such as BP, Bayer, Daimler Chrysler and Archer Daniel Midlands. Jatropha has proponents amongst the multilateral agencies and NGOs concerned with economic and social development issues. And it has risen up the political agenda, attracting the attention of governments in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Jatropha has also been advanced as a component in economic development strategies for less developed countries, with an emphasis on its potential to provide income to impoverished rural communities. Some of the issues associated with such hopes are discussed in depth in this supplement. Kua Harn Wei of the National University of Singapore assesses jatropha’s potential in promoting sustainable development and Susan Hansen, Director of Cleantech Research at Rabobank, addresses the potential for the jatropha based biodiesel industry in India.
To date the bulk of the investment in jatropha has been connected to schemes with a social component. More commercially oriented schemes are now emerging and we can expect to see jatropha grown on a plantation scale in the future. In terms of financing, investors in the UK stock market have jumped on the jatropha bandwagon. Our feature on UK Quoted Jatropha discusses the activities of four ‘pure play’ jatropha companies – AIM listed D1 Oils, Gem Biofuels and Viridas and PLUS Markets listed ESV Group – as well as two AIM listed companies which have invested in jatropha alongside their other businesses, Energem Resources (through Energem Biofuels) and Trading Emissions (through Sun Biofuels and Bionasa Combustivel Natural). However, many jatropha projects – especially those with a social or developmental element – may require funding from government or NGO sources to ‘kick start’ private sector investment.
Jatropha offers the potential to play a unique role within the biodiesel industry. For all its social and developmental qualities, however, the future for jatropha and the emerging jatropha biodiesel industry will inevitably be determined by the price of oil. On that basis, given the current rising oil prices, it would seem a positive future for the jatropha industry is assured.
Anne McIvor
May 2008
|
