Biofuels Markets Africa

Cape Town, November 2006

Thursday 30 November – Friday 1 December 2006

Cape Sun Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa

Biofuels projects are being reviewed and implemented across the African continent with South Africa leading this development – it has been suggested that Biofuels have the potential to produce 10% of South Africa’s petrol & diesel needs by 2010.  Biofuels are seen as one of the biggest economic opportunities for Africa, especially job creation in rural areas.  Exciting developments in this respect are taking place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mali, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, Madagascar and many more African nations. 

Coordinated policy & strategy are required to maximise these opportunities and many governments are working on legislation to this effect.  For example the government task team in South Africa will be presenting further suggestions for their Biofuels strategy to cabinet in October.

This two day conference will investigate all the key issues relevant to Biofuels in Africa.  With speakers from all stakeholder areas of the industry this is an essential event for all parties both within Africa & globally.

Day One – Thursday 30 November

­08.45 Registration, Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

09.30 Organisers Introduction

09.35 Chair’s Opening Remarks

09.40 Setting the Scene - An Overview of Biofuels Developments Globally

- The link between oil prices & Biofuels

- 10-year oil price projections – what is the outlook for fossil fuels?

- Key Biofuels developments globally

- The scale of the Biofuels economic opportunity in Africa

Speaker: Raoul Goosen, Consultant, Sustainable Progressive Solutions, South Africa

Keynote Session - Global Case Studies & Learning’s for Africa

09.55 Brazil’s Ethanol Market Success Story

- 30 years of ethanol

- World market view

- Can African countries emulate the success of the Brazilian Biofuels market?

- Future trends and opportunities

- Brazil working with Africa – technology & expertise transfer

Speaker: Luthero Winter Moreira, Manager, Alcohol & Oxygenated Products, Petrobras, Brazil

10.15 Learning’s from the Development of Biofuels in Europe

- Biofuels production

- Progress towards European targets

- EU & national government support

- How Africa can avoid European mistakes

Speaker: Andrew Owens, Chief Executive Officer, Greenergy, UK

10.35 Biofuels Lessons for Africa from Europe's Emerging Market Experiences

- European Bioethanol and Biodiesel demand & supply analysis

- Supply chain competitive structure

- European emerging markets insights

- Growth opportunities and strategic recommendations for the European market

- Lessons for Africa from Europe's emerging market experiences

Speaker: Ulric Taylor, Research Analyst, African Automotive & Transportation Group, Frost & Sullivan, South Africa

10.55 India – Recognising the Economic Opportunity

- The Biofuels opportunity in India

- The biorefinery process as a whole

- Cellulosic feedstocks

Speaker: Dr. Srinivas Kilambi, President & Chief Executive Officer, Biorefinery, Reliance Industries, India

11.15 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

11.30 Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

Regulation & Policy – Essential to Market Development in Africa

12.20 Focus on South Africa – Leading Africa’s Biofuels Evolution

- South Africa – 13th largest contributor to global warming, transport sector is 24% of South Africa’s CO2 emissions and this is expected to rise rapidly

- South African Biofuels potential

- Priority sector of AsgiSA

- South Africa’s renewable energy targets

- Energy security

- Climate change

- Import substitution – can governments protect their economies from high oil prices by substituting oil with Biofuels?

- Further support – incentives for use, penalties for not converting?

- Maximising the economic opportunity, minimising the environmental impact

Speakers: To be announced

12.45 Panel Discussion – Pan African Facilitation of Biofuels Development

- Government incentives

- Government’s role in the industry

- Reducing dependency on imports

- Energy security

- Benefits of utilising by-products

- On road vs. off road

- Impacts on biodiversity

- Incorporating rural communities into the planting of various crops

- Government support & regulation - who is doing what and how does it compare with successful support systems in Europe?

Panellists:

Christine Asser, Principal Programme Officer, Energy Commission, Ghana

Abdussalam Yusuf, Chief Scientific Officer, Department of Renewable Energy, Energy Commission, Nigeria

Frans Hugo, Managing Director, SA Biodiesel, South Africa

13.20 Lunch & Exhibition Visit

Market Strategies – Biofuel Impacts in Africa

14.40 Successfully Producing Biofuels from Various Feedstocks’

- Establishing national Biodiesel policies & programmes

- Cultivating jatropha throughout Africa

- Case studies from South Africa, Madagascar, Zambia, Swaziland and more

- Onsite Biodiesel for mining operations

Speaker: Demetri Poppadopoulos, Chief Executive Officer, D1 Oils, South Africa

15.00 Food vs. Fuel or Food & Fuel

- An overview of energy crops utilised

- Restricted resources – arable land, water for crops

- Is there an impact on food prices, industries raw materials?

- Creating a strategy to benefit both sectors

- Assessing the impacts & challenges in Africa

Speaker: Ingmar Jürgens, Renewable Energy/Climate Change Officer, Environment and Natural Resources Service, Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Italy

15.20 Fossil Fuel Producers Working with the Biofuels Industry

- Current scenario

- Cost neutral environment

- Cost, economics, quality, logistics

- Plans to accommodate Bioethanol, Biodiesel blending

- Voluntary vs. mandatory blending

Speaker: To be announced

15.40 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

15.50 Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

16.40 Biofuels Developments – The Impact on Commodities

Speaker: To be announced

Biofuels & CDM

17.00 The CDM in the African Context

- An introduction to the CDM process in South Africa

- Looking specifically at CDM in industry/emissions reduction

            - What factors are holding companies back?

            - Why companies should be implementing a CDM project

- Case study in Kwa Zulu Natal

Speaker: Grant Little, CDM Project Leader, Environmental & Quality Systems Manager, Sappi, South Africa

17.20 CDM & the Role of Biofuels

- How CDM can add a revenue stream

- How the CDM fits in?

- Understanding the opportunities

- Projects under CDM

- What is working?

- What is not working?

- The role Biofuels can play

Speaker: To be announced

17.40 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

17.50 Close of Day One

Day Two – Friday 1 December

­08.30 Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

08.55 Chair’s Opening Remarks

The Difficulties of the Market

09.00 Panel Discussion – Removing the Barriers to Acceptance & Usage of Biofuels in Africa

- Voluntary vs. mandatory blending

- Subsidies, rebates, fuel levy

- Technical support for small scale producers

- Clarifying the CO2 benefits of different Biofuels

- Considering the environmental impact of building production plants and infrastructure

- Biofuels as household energy

- Comparative risks & benefits to feedstock supply and environmental impacts of small scale vs. large scale liquid Biofuel production

- Respective socio-economic impacts

- Energy balance for different Biofuels in different locations

Panellists:

Erhard Seiler, Chief Executive Officer, Southern African Biofuels Association

Glynn Morris, Southern African Facilitator, Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership

Daniel Liwimbi, Chief Executive Officer, Ethanol Company, Malawi

09.35 A Refineries View on Biofuels

- The role of Biofuels

- Blending fuels – the challenges

- Strategic implications

- How will it affect consumer prices?

Speaker: Ian Baxter, Refinery Strategic Planner, Engen Petroleum, South Africa

African Case Studies – Large Scale Producers

09.55 Introducing Biodiesel into Production

- Economically competitive

- Government intervention

Speaker: Brian Tait, Manager, Alternative Energy Group, Sasol, South Africa

10.15 The Nigerian Fuel Ethanol Industry

- Nigeria could be $150m annually richer with Biofuels as an alternative energy source to crude oil

- Cassava & sugarcane crop

- Sugarcane - one of the most viable feedstocks, most cost efficient way is co-production

- 10% Biofuel, 90% fossil fuel blend

- Chinese investment in Nigerian Biofuels

- Top down supply led approach

- Supply MoU with Brazil

- Improving automotive exhaust emissions

- Reducing domestic use of oil

- Increasing crude exports

Speaker: Abdussalam Yusuf, Chief Scientific Officer, Department of Renewable Energy, Energy Commission, Nigeria  

10.35 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

10.50 Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

11.50 Investing in Bioethanol – South African Market Projections

- Large scale production plant

- Fuel production vision

- Job creation

- Using yellow maize, no threat to food security

- Carbon credits

Speaker: Johan Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer, Ethanol Africa, South Africa

African Case Studies – Small Scale Producers

12.10 Small Scale Production – Lessons Learnt

Speaker: Willie van der Westhuizen, Managing Director, Growing Fuels, South Africa

12.30 Micro Scale Production – Lessons Learnt

- Developing Biofuels as a decentralised model

- Making it sustainable

- Biodiesel & Bioethanol

- Case studies

Speaker: Thomas Munn, Chief Executive Officer, African Alternative Energy, South Africa

12.50 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

13.00 Lunch & Exhibition Visit

Project Financing & Management

14.20 Financing the Developments of Biofuels

- Investing in projects

- Where are the best opportunities?

- Finance options for small scale solutions

- Requirements for financing the Biofuels industry

- Will climate change affect the development of Biofuels in Africa in years to come and will this impact on investments now?

Speaker: Fazel Moosa, Agribusiness Specialist, ABSA, South Africa

14.40 Financing Biofuels – A Look across the Sector

- Challenges in raising finance

- Financing options – development banks, high street banks, stock market

- Bringing in equity

Speaker: To be announced

15.00 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

15.10 Refreshments & Exhibition Visit

Non Transport Application Case Studies

15.40 Biogas Opportunities

Speaker: To be announced

16.00 Utilities’ Viewpoint – Using Biofuels in the Power Generation Sector

- What stage are utilities at regarding using Biofuels?

- Challenges & opportunities in utilising biofuels versus traditional energy sources

- Plans to integrate alternative energy sources

Speaker: Vally Padayachee, Vice President Operations, City Power Johannesburg, South Africa (Awaiting final confirmation)

16.20 The Opportunity for Rural Electrification

- Rural energy, a huge business opportunity

- Integrating Biodiesel, Biogas and a diesel genset for multi purpose power

- Biogas energy from municipal solid waste

- Rural Biogas from household thermal use

- Bioethanol gelfuel for household thermal use

Speaker: Glynn Morris, Managing Director, AGAMA Energy, South Africa

Latest Technological Developments

16.40 Carbon Neutral Fuels – 1st & 2nd Generation Biofuels

- Differences among Biofuels

- Well to wheel CO2 performance

- First generation – farmed crops

- Second generation – residual organic matter

- Environmental implications of the use of biomass for transport, power & heat

- Impacts on biodiversity

- Latest developments to minimise these impacts

- 2nd generation technology – more socially and environmentally friendly?

- Latest research

Speaker: To be announced

17.00 Interactive Panel Discussion with Session Speakers

17.15 Close of Conference