MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Biomass: Sabah Sets Two Records
Biomass: Sabah Sets Two Records
04/07/2013 (Daily Express) - Sabah has created two Malaysian records in the use of oil palm biomass by the setting up of a company that processes bioethanol from empty fruit bunches and the establishment of the Biomass Joint Venture (JV) Cluster recently.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan said the bioethanol factory is the first of its kind in the country and will open the door to the global market for highly-valued biochemical products.
"Whereas the concept of the joint venture has successfully overcome the problem of long-term biomass supply with stable prices," he said.
He was speaking at the launching of the Sustainable Palm Oil Research Unit (Spor) in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), here, Tuesday.
The unit is UMS' initiative through its School of Science and Technology to collaborate with oil palm industry players to improve the quality of research on oil palm and its sustainability in the State.
Tan, who is also the Minister of Industrial Development, said many local and foreign investors would like to set up biomass processing plants to produce products such as pellets and second generation biofuel but were discouraged by the difficulty of long-term biomass supply.
"Joint efforts by the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sabah Sdn Bhd and Malaysia Innovation Agency (an agency under the Prime Minister's Department) successfully created and launched the Biomass JV Cluster concept.
"The concept was received well by international investors after it was announced at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Canada recently," he said.
He believed that UMS will be able to play an important role in leading areas of research related to the oil palm industry in Sabah along with POIC.
"My hope is that Spor will become the best platform in developing collaborative research between UMS and oil palm industry players in Sabah to address issues and challenges it faces," he said.
Sabah is the largest palm oil producer in the country with a total land area of 1.5 million hectares or 30 per cent of Malaysian oil palm acreage. The industry is expected to yield RM103.9 billion by the year 2020.
During the ceremony, Spor received two research grants totalling RM131,839 from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) for its researches entitled "Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Ganoderma in Relation to Critical Nutrient in Oil Palm" and "Modelling Economic Impact of Ganoderma Basal Stem Rot Disease on Oil Palm Yields".
The mock cheques were presented by MPOB Deputy General Director (Research), Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din.
Meanwhile, UMS Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Mohd Harun Abdullah said experts from various disciplines will be integrated under Spor to conduct environment friendly researches using the various biodiversity sources in Borneo to help solve problems related to oil palm industry.
"Therefore, the university will continue to support all Spor activities in achieving its targeted objectives.
"With the energy and expertise at its disposal coupled by the support and cooperation of the government and industry players, I believe the unit will be able to elevate the level of oil palm research in Sabah, on par with other research institutes," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan said the bioethanol factory is the first of its kind in the country and will open the door to the global market for highly-valued biochemical products.
"Whereas the concept of the joint venture has successfully overcome the problem of long-term biomass supply with stable prices," he said.
He was speaking at the launching of the Sustainable Palm Oil Research Unit (Spor) in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), here, Tuesday.
The unit is UMS' initiative through its School of Science and Technology to collaborate with oil palm industry players to improve the quality of research on oil palm and its sustainability in the State.
Tan, who is also the Minister of Industrial Development, said many local and foreign investors would like to set up biomass processing plants to produce products such as pellets and second generation biofuel but were discouraged by the difficulty of long-term biomass supply.
"Joint efforts by the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sabah Sdn Bhd and Malaysia Innovation Agency (an agency under the Prime Minister's Department) successfully created and launched the Biomass JV Cluster concept.
"The concept was received well by international investors after it was announced at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Canada recently," he said.
He believed that UMS will be able to play an important role in leading areas of research related to the oil palm industry in Sabah along with POIC.
"My hope is that Spor will become the best platform in developing collaborative research between UMS and oil palm industry players in Sabah to address issues and challenges it faces," he said.
Sabah is the largest palm oil producer in the country with a total land area of 1.5 million hectares or 30 per cent of Malaysian oil palm acreage. The industry is expected to yield RM103.9 billion by the year 2020.
During the ceremony, Spor received two research grants totalling RM131,839 from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) for its researches entitled "Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Ganoderma in Relation to Critical Nutrient in Oil Palm" and "Modelling Economic Impact of Ganoderma Basal Stem Rot Disease on Oil Palm Yields".
The mock cheques were presented by MPOB Deputy General Director (Research), Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din.
Meanwhile, UMS Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Mohd Harun Abdullah said experts from various disciplines will be integrated under Spor to conduct environment friendly researches using the various biodiversity sources in Borneo to help solve problems related to oil palm industry.
"Therefore, the university will continue to support all Spor activities in achieving its targeted objectives.
"With the energy and expertise at its disposal coupled by the support and cooperation of the government and industry players, I believe the unit will be able to elevate the level of oil palm research in Sabah, on par with other research institutes," he said.