Benefuel Inc., a US-headed biodiesel technology developer has announced that a joint venture (JV) has been formed by its subsidiary, Benefuel International Holdings S.A.R.L., and a subsidiary of Felda Global Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (FGV), the world’s largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer. The JV has entered into an agreement to acquire a 250 000 tonne-per-annum biodiesel plant in Kuantan Port, Malaysia and retrofit the plant with Benefuel’s ENSEL technology.
According to Benefuel, the JV also includes M2 Capital Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Australia’s Mission NewEnergy, the current owner of the plant. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, and the plant is expected to be operational in late 2015.
We are excited to team up with FGV and Mission NewEnergy to acquire and operate the Kuantan Port plant. This facility will use lower cost, high FFA feedstock, a by-product of the crude palm oil milling and refining process, said Rob Tripp, Chief Executive Officer of Benefuel.
According to Tripp, the Kuantan Port plant is a “great opportunity” giving access international biodiesel markets as well as to the Malaysian domestic market – the country currently has a five percent blend mandate that is to be implemented nationwide in December of this year and discussions on moving to a seven percent blend are underway.
The facility is situated on a deepwater port and logistically advantaged to serve both the Malaysian domestic market and International markets like Europe and the US. The facility is close to FGV’s plantations and palm oil refineries, ensuring a consistent and high-quality feedstock supply. As a country, Malaysia has taken a leadership position in biodiesel initiatives and we look forward to working with FGV to satisfy the region’s growing demand for biodiesel, said Tripp.
Benefuel is the exclusive owner of the patented, process to use its solid catalyst to produce biodiesel and biolubricants, which was developed by the National Chemical Laboratories and is produced by Sud-Chemie (now part of Clariant).
Together with our project in Beatrice, Nebraska, Kuantan project will be the second facility to be retrofitted with our ENSEL technology. With the establishment of strong equity and project partners like Koch Industries, Suncor Energy, ITOCHU and FGV, we are rapidly developing a strong project pipeline of opportunities, both on a retrofit and greenfield basis. Given our capital and operating cost advantages, and the growing global mandates for biodiesel blends, we expect to be busy for a long time. In the interim, we look forward to closing this transaction and for the joint venture becoming the low-cost producer of biodiesel in Malaysia, concluded Rob Tripp.
