31/05/2012 (Bernama) - MYBiomass Sdn Bhd, a unit of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), has shipped 12 tonnes of oil palm biomass to a pilot plant in Italy which converts the raw material into industrial sugar.

The shipment is part of initial cooperation between MIGHT, plantation conglomerates Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGVH) and Sime Darby Bhd under the Malaysian Biomass Initiative (MBI), endorsed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the second Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) meeting this month.

FGVH and Sime Darby will each own a 40 per cent stake in MYBiomass Sdn Bhd while MIGHT will continue to hold the remaining 20 per cent in the special-purpose vehicle.

"We are excited by the pace of development as we watch the first shipment of trunks, empty fruit bunches and fronds sent for testing in existing facilities in Europe.

"This represents the initial phase of a much deeper cooperation that has brought together two of the biggest oil palm plantation companies in the world in an alliance that has the potential to transform an entire industry; one of the largest in Malaysia," said MIGHT President and Chief Executive Officer Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman in a statement.