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Swedish group to produce African ethanol

9th May, 2008

Sweden-based ethanol producer SEKAB Group is planning and preparing for the production of ethanol in Tanzania and Mozambique. With the tropical climate and its unused areas with good access to water, Africa harbours excellent national conditions for growing biomass for biofuels.

'We are working to help Tanzania and Mozambique within 20 years become free of their dependence on oil and export several billion litres of ethanol from the factories we are planning,' Per Carstedt, CEO of SEKAB, says.

The first factories will come online in 2011 and will be followed by many new projects in the coming 30 years. SEKAB is aiming to support and lead national efforts for biofuels through the long-term development of over 400,000 hectares for bioenergy production. The volume of export ethanol would be enough to replace all petrol and diesel for private cars in Sweden and Norway if the vehicles also use plug-in technology.

The countries have a combined area that is nearly four times the size of Sweden. Today Mozambique and Tanzania are completely dependent on imported petroleum products, which consume nearly 100% of their export income. Sugarcane and durra are the simplest and most cost-effective raw materials for ethanol production.

'There are unused areas of many million hectares available in both Tanzania and Mozambique which do not compete with food production or threaten biological diversity,' Carstedt points out.

The Tanzanian government has active support from SIDA, and the Swedish Energy Agency has created a special organisation - the National Biofuels Task Force (NBTF), which handles all issues and decisions related to the budding biofuel industry. A national strategy with clear regulations is being developed to ensure sustainable development of this fast growing industrial sector.

When the Swedish technology for production of cellulose ethanol, which is being developed in the pilot plant by SEKAB in Örnsköldsvik, reaches commercial levels, it also intends to be linked to operations in Tanzania and Mozambique to extract residual products from the sugarcane (bagasse). The new technology can increase production by 50% per hectare.