Renewable fuel-farm project

Suriname has entered into an agreement with a United States company to establish farms for the production of renewable fuel and protein.

The project will involve the Ministry of Natural Resources, the state-owned oil company Staatsolie, United Culture Companies (VCM) and the Florida-based biotech company PetroAlgae.

Natural Resource Minister Jim Hok, said that "this project cannot fail" while PetroAlgae's executive vice-president Harold Gubnitsky said, "This is a project that PetroAlgae is very proud and excited to be working with the government of Suriname.

"So I think we have a very unique team in the world, but certainly in the region to take the technology that we're developing and deploying and bring it to commercialisation here," he said.

"We take indigenous crops, indigenous plant species that we studied for many years and put them into our system and technology so that it grows very rapidly, and then we process that in a special way that allows us to create a fuel source."

The 'Lemna Growth Confirmation Project' will allow for the growth and fuel-production capacity of duckweed.

VCM president Armand van Alen said protein from the duckweed will be processed into animal feed, while the residue will be the source for the biofuel. The project is expected to utilise at least 5,000 hectares, officials said.

- CMC