News

April 2010 Issue

In the biofuel world, Jatropha is a household name. The “diesel plant” has been studied and tested by plant scientists and oil companies alike, and has earned support from organizations like NASA, Toyota, Boeing, Bayer, Japan Airlines and GE. Jatorpha is a relatively new word, however, for most people outside of the biofuels industry. Calgary-based Bedford Biofuels is educating Canadian investors about the potential of biofuels in the marketplace and why Jatropha is the company’s feedstock of choice.

David McClure, President and CEO of Bedford Biofuels, said Jatropha was the stand-out biofuel when he was researching which alternative fuel to pursue. McClure’s business model syndicates private investment offerings in Canada to facilitate Bedford’s Jatropha operations in Kenya. With private investment, not only does the project go ahead with or without banks, but small- or large-scale investors in Canada can participate in the project from its beginning.

Supporting Jatropha

Jatropha curcas is an oil-bearing, sub-tropical, drought-resistant shrub able to grow in challenging environments. When grown in the right climate, Jatropha produces non-edible nuts high in oil. Crude Jatropha oil (CJO) can be used to run diesel engines and has tested successfully for use in aviation. Jatropha begins to flower within 6 to 8 months of planting, maturing within 3 to 4 years and continues to produce fruit for up to 50 years. When pressed, oil is extracted and a pulp residue or seedcake is left behind, which can be made into either fertilizer or animal feed.

Bedford COO, Gary Hartnett, said the support of government and local farmers alike in Kenya has been overwhelming.

-Our team believes in the potential of this plant, we have unanimous support in Kenya, we have the best land in the country – possibly the world – to grow Jatropha, we have a willing and available labour pool in the people of the Tana Delta, said Hartnett, a forester from Australia who has lived in Africa for more than four years.

-We needed someone who understood the limitless possibilities of the biofuels market. Enter David McClure, who has a mind for the business of biofuel and a heart for the people of the Tana Delta.

Empowering the Locals

For most of Bedford’s investors, the promise of a better future for the people of the Tana Delta District is as important as high returns and environmental benefits.
Bedford’s humanitarian division EMPOWER (Every Member Prospers on World Energy Resources) was formed to bring healthcare, education, and clean water to the people in the areas where Bedford will operate. The program will teach farmers to grow their own Jatropha in order to sell it to Bedford for income. Through intercropping and the transfer of farming skills to local farmers and landowners, EMPOWER will contribute to long-term food and financial security.

Right Industry, Right Time

Bedford sponsored two speaking tours in 2009: A Conversation with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in June and A Conversation with George W. Bush in October. The sold out tours gave Bedford an opportunity to tell its story in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon.

According to a Daily Finance article July 24, 2009, Pike Research has predicted a tripling of the global biofuels industry by 2020, which would value it at nearly a quarter trillion dollars in 10 years. McClure predicts 100% market absorption of Bedford’s CJO and has secured crop insurance and political risk insurance for its plantations from Lloyd’s of London and World Bank, respectively, to protect the project.

-Jatropha is environmentally beneficial, humanitarian in that its cultivation benefits the farmers in the areas we plant and their families, and it has the potential to be very profitable, said McClure.

-Through all of our research, our meetings with decision makers from around the globe, the countless Canadian investors we’ve met with and our involvement with Bush and Clinton, it has become increasingly evident that we are in the right industry at the right time.

By Carol Christian
August 13, 2010

One Alberta-based company is developing an alternative fuel source by planting one oil well at a time.

And that natural oil well is called the jatropha tree — nicknamed the diesel tree — as Bedford Biofuels develops sustainable biofuel plantations that supply the biodiesel market.

John Mitchell, general manager of Bedford Biofuels, explained the company has 160,000 hectares of prime development land for jatropha cultivation in the eastern coastal region of Kenya with 200,000 additional hectares being secured. Its plantation in Zambia is home to its research and development facilities. Currently, 100,000 hectares of prime land is being secured for jatropha cultivation.

“Most people don’t have the hundreds of billions it takes to get in the oil business and because of the price of oil — we’re not advocating the end of oil — we’re just looking at the end of cheap oil.”

As that cheap oil ends, there are certain plans in the world that don’t have oil that could actually grow their own, predicted Mitchell.

Referring to the Kenya plantation, he acknowledged it’s not as big as the oilsands, but it’s a lot of land. “We plant a tree … called the diesel tree.”

The tree bears a fruit about the size of an apple, likened Mitchell, and inside that fruit is three big seeds that are “40% diesel” -—hence the nickname.

“You just squeeze and you’ve got diesel you can put in a truck and run it. It’s a very unique product.”

The problem with most biofuels is they claim to be environmentally friendly, but they’re not. They claim to be environmentally friendly, but they’re not.”

Take corn, for example, said Mitchell.

“You have to burn a gallon of diesel in harvesting machinery to get .7 gallons. As human beings, we want to do something, we’re proactive, but it’s like right now, recycling, it costs us more to recycle than we’re actually saving and we think we’re doing something; same thing with ethanol. It makes you think were doing something but we’re actually harming it.”

Biofuel is defined as a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel derived from recently dead biological material, according to Bedford’s website. Therefore, in essence, biofuels can be produced from any biological carbon source. The most commonly used source is photosynthetic plants. These are known collectively as “feedstock.”

When it comes to the Jatropha Curcas — described as a robust and relatively drought resistant, sustainable crop that can grow on several different types of land — Mitchell said the tree for 45 years.

“You only plant it once and you harvest it, and it doesn’t take that much to harvest so it’s got a way better pay back and it’s way better for the environment.”

Though it’s easier to use for a basic diesel engine, Mitchell admitted it does need refining to use in the more hi-tech North American diesel engines.

“The upgrading and refining depend on what you want to use it for. If you bring it to North America there’s a lot of refining because our diesel trucks here are higher tech but jatropha, as just crude jatropha oil, you squeeze a seed, you filter it and you can put it into any marine grade diesel of any pre-combustion engine diesel which means almost every mining equipment, railway, boat or truck on the African continent. That’s what’s unique about it: we don’t have to spend the extra energy and everything to get it there. That’s why it’s so environmentally green … and Boeing has found out and they do refine it but once they do refine it, it produces 78% less emissions than fossil fuel.”

Mitchell said the company is Alberta-based because there is more investment money on the sidelines in Alberta than anywhere.

Go to Nevada or Arizona right now, and ask the realtors who is buying all the houses. The answer, Mitchell said, is Albertans because people here are still working, making good money but where want an investment that’s going to give a long-term payback.

“Yeah you can buy into the oil patch as a shareholder and buy shares, but what we’re doing with people is ‘You invest with us, you’re owning part of the lands.’ We give our investors 75% of the profits.”

Using investors’ money to establish a plantation to plant an oil well. There is a one in 10 chance of striking oil when drilling an oil well, said Mitchell. In the oilsands, it’s about 100%, but it’s very expensive.

With Bedford’s project, if the jatropha is planted in a climate where it grows, it’s a 100% chance of lasting growth.

“So you get a 100% chance of getting oil. So we plant oil wells.”

There are some local investors in Fort McMurray, said Mitchell explaining the company’s philosophy is to offer the small investor the opportunity to take advantage and make great profits.

“If we were to go to a major company, they’d come to us and say ‘Yeah we’ll do it but we want control of the project.’ Our company doesn’t want to lose control of how we run things so we do it all with small private investors.” Investments range upwards from the lowest point of $8,000 which earns investors the equivalent of a hectare of land.

Mitchell invites anyone looking for more information to attend an open house Bedford is hosting on Aug. 17 at the Sawridge Inn. The Bedford crew will also be attending the trade show in late September.

In addition, Mitchell noted that 4% of Bedford’s budget is allocated to humanitarian work. That includes building homes, dental and medical clinics in the areas where the plantations are located. There’s also schools and food processing plants.

“We grow food on our land and feed the people.” Those people are also Bedford employees.

“The area we’re going into, unlike Fort Mac, we have 87,000 people live there, 95% unemployment, and half of the people are below the age of 25. So we’re going down there and employing the people.”

Mitchell noted that a company mandate stipulates Bedford only plant on land that has not or is not in agricultural production.

“It hasn’t been used for 50 years for anything.”

He acknowledged that in biofuels, it’s always the food versus fuel debate.

“What we’re telling people is it’s food and fuel because we can actually inter-crop with our product, take ground that’s not in production now, put our plantation in, run cattle on the same land, refertilize it. They can have the beef. We can run honey operations … because of the flowers on the trees. We’re actually getting more than just the fuel. We’re getting food and fuel.

“It’s really a cool project.”

As such a humanitarian-minded company, Bedford is one of a few invited to join former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s humanitarian group, the Clinton Global Initiative, said Mitchell. Membership in this invitation-only club includes the likes of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.

“We want to be profitable for investors, but at the same time, we’re very humanitarian and environmentally responsible in what we’re doing.”

carol.christian@fortmcmurraytoday.com

By Lissa Swihart
Quarter 2 2010 Issue

With government mandates to reduce the global carbon footprint, the biofuels industry has been sent into a frenzy. Alternative fuels are in high demand and the race is on to find the alternative fuel of choice.

Jatropha curcas, also known as the “diesel plant,” is an oil-bearing, sub-tropical, drought-resistant shrub capable of growing in challenging environments. When grown in the right climate, Jatropha produces nonedible nuts high in oil. Crude Jatropha oil (CJO) can be used to run diesel engines and has been tested successfully for use in aviation.

Jatropha, however, has yet to become a household name. Despite the myriad of articles and news programs about Jatropha and the heavy-hitting brands attached to it, the biofuel feedstock has a lot of competition in the world of alternative energy. Jatropha’s greatest attributes are its non-food crop status and its ability to serve as a drop-in, cleaner burning replacement for traditional diesel fuel.

Jatropha has made headlines because of its association with organizations, such as Toyota, Nestle, Kia, Bayer, General Motors, NASA, and Boeing. Some are exploring the use of Jatropha as a replacement for traditional fuel; some are growing Jatropha to counter their own carbon footprint.

Originating in Central America, the plant was largely considered a weed before the discovery of the plant’s potential as a biofuel resource, and was sometimes used as a hedge to divide fields. The oil from its nuts was occasionally used to fuel lamps. Jatropha begins to flower within six to eight months of planting, matures within three to four years, and continues to produce fruit for up to 50 years. When pressed, oil is extracted for biofuel and a pulp residue or seedcake is left behind, which can be made into either fertilizer or animal feed. Needless to say, Jatropha is no longer considered a weed.

Jatropha made its biggest debut in 2008 and 2009 when technological developments made it possible to refine CJO to be used as a dropin fuel in existing engines. News sources, such as New York Times, Newsweek, and Forbes, began to feature articles about the plant. In 2007, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, “Jatropha Plant Gains Steam in Global Race for Biofuels.” In 2008, the Economist kept the Jatropha buzz going with an article entitled, “Kept aloft by plants and algae.” In 2009, Time magazine questioned, “Jatropha: the Next Big Biofuel?” In February 2010, Reuters published, “Jatropha Shines as Non-Food Oil for Biodiesel.”

Crops like corn and soybean once dominated the world of biofuels until scientists, environmentalists, and human rights advocates took issue with the effects of food versus fuel. Prices of these crops were driven up because of the demands of the oil industry. Those crops became cost prohibitive to some populations. Jatropha is inedible, which excludes it from the food versus fuel criticism. Beyond its non-food status, the use of crude Jatropha oil does not require engine modification, an attribute that makes its use environmentally friendly and cost-effective.

Will Thurmond, president of Emerging Markets Online, predicted the necessity for biofuels to act as drop-in fuel in his 2009 article “Drop in Fuels: the Next Generation” published in Biofuels International. According to Thurmond, “from 2009 to 2020, the industry will see increasing investment into the production of ‘drop-in’ fuel technologies and refinery processes to meet rising demands for the integration of biomass and petroleum systems, and to support national biodiesel mandates and targets for biofuels production.”

Thurmond listed Jatropha as one of the feedstocks that can be refined to produce a drop-in fuel “that require[s] no changes to distribution, storage or engines for planes.” He used the United States as an example of a country that has spent more than $7 billion on its existing petroleum refining, storage, pipeline, and distribution structure, not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on research and development to produce a new airline jet engine. In order to be viable, biofuels have to act as a drop-in replacement.

On December 30, 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand in a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell’s UOP, Jatropha diesel was tested in the world’s first commercial aviation test flight powered by Jatropha diesel specially blended for aviation applications.

Last year, MIT’s Technology Review published research findings by Alok Adholeya, director of (TERI) Biotechnology and Management of Bioresources. “Jatropha is a one-stage conversion [to biodiesel],” Adholeya says, explaining that converting the plant oil to an oil that can be burned as fuel requires only one stage of heating and mixing with methanol. The resulting fuel, he says, “is a very good quality diesel that can be used in any transport vehicle.”

With so much public evidence of Jatropha’s potential, some biofuel companies are relying on public participation to get Jatropha plantations up and running. Bedford Biofuels, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is educating investors about the potential of Jatropha to attract small and large investments. The company will plant 100,000 hectares (or 247,000 acres) of Jatropha in the Tana Delta District of Kenya.

David McClure, the president and CEO of Bedford, said most of the CJO produced will be consumed domestically but once quantities allow, the oil can be shipped to other parts of Africa, Europe, and beyond.

In March 2010, NASA announced the addition of a Jatropha experiment to the International Space Station to test the effects of microgravity on Jatropha cells with the intent to accelerate the cultivation of the plant for commercial use.

An article on NASA’s official Web site quoted Wagner Vendrame, the principal investigator for the experiment at the University of Florida. “As the search for alternate energy sources has become a top priority, the results from this study could add value for commercialization of a new product,” said Vendrame. “Our goal is to verify if microgravity will induce any significant changes in the cells that could affect plant growth and development back on Earth.”

The sky appears to be the limit for Jatropha. Once considered a weed, the plant has the potential to leave a green footprint in history.

August 10, 2010

A Calgary company hopes to tap into an unconventional source of fuel and help impoverished people at the same time — and it’s seeking help from Central Albertans.

Bedford Biofuels Inc. wants to grow jatropha plants on hundreds of thousands of acres in Africa. Biofuel could be extracted from the resulting seeds, said John Mitchell, the company’s general manager, and the plantations would promote food production and provide income for local inhabitants.

Bedford Biofuels has research and development facilities in Zambia, and is arranging long-term leases for hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in that country and Kenya.

The key to its plans is the jatropha plant, and in particular its seeds — about 35 to 40 per cent of which consists of an oil that can be burned as a precombustion engine diesel or marine-grade diesel, said Mitchell. With further processing, the oil is suitable for high-tech diesel engines and even as an aviation fuel.

But its best use might be close to the jatropha plants themselves, which grow best in tropical climates near the equator.

“In most of the Third World countries, you just squeeze it, filter it and put it in your vehicles,” said Mitchell.

Alternatively, he added, the oil could be used to power generators.

“Third World countries, 90 per cent of those people don’t have electricity.”

Another benefit of jatropha production is that the drought-resistant plants help stabilize and enrich the soil. That opens the door for other crops within the plantations.

“We’re actually going to plant grass and run cattle crops in there,” said Mitchell, explaining that this will provide a source of protein for the people who live there.

The plantations will also mean jobs, he added, with the workers fed and paid. Bedford Biofuels also plans to grow food crops on other lands, and build facilities like schools and dental clinics.

“Four per cent of our budget as a company is allocated to humanitarian work.”

Bedford Biofuels is currently raising capital, with Mitchell in Red Deer on Wednesday to speak to prospective investors.

“We’re going to have meetings in Red Deer every two weeks,” he said, adding that Bedford Biofuels is opening an office here.

The company is already making regular presentations in Calgary and Edmonton, with investors in Fort McMurray, Vancouver, Winnipeg and other cities also being solicited.

“We need North American capital to put the plantations in,” said Mitchell, who emphasizes the humanitarian and environmental benefits of jatropha, but also its potential profitability.

“Is there anybody out there who doesn’t think oil is going increase somewhat over the near future?

“We plant a tree that’s going to produce oil.”

Those who put money into the venture will receive a share of an African jatropha plantation, each of which will consist of about 10,000 hectares. The first, in Kenya, is expected to be planted within the next year.

Jatropha plants take about four years to reach maturity, but thereafter will produce usable seeds for about 45 years, said Mitchell. Because Kenya has two rainy seasons, two harvests a year are expected.

Each pod contains three large seeds. Their non-oil component can be used for fertilizer, animal feed, pesticides and herbicides, cosmetics, brake fluid and other products, he said.

“The other byproducts, besides the oil, are almost as valuable as the oil is,” said Mitchell.

Jatropha oil produced on the west coast of Africa was shipped to Europe during the First and Second World Wars to help address diesel fuel shortages, said Mitchell.

“Other than that, it hasn’t been looked at as a commercial biofuel product because it grows only in the tropics.”

That changed about a decade ago when the world became interested in biofuels. Jatropha oil production has since been pursued by a number of countries and companies, although some have stumbled out of the gate.

“Too many people have just thought you could plant it anywhere and it’d grow,” said Mitchell.

“It will grow anywhere, it just won’t fruit and flower and make money anywhere.”

Additional information about Bedford Biofuels can be found online at www.bedfordbiofuels.com.

June 16 – US President Barack Obama, in a rare Oval Office address Tuesday night, said, “The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.”

Obama condemned BP’s “recklessness” and plead for an end to America’s “century-long addiction” to oil.

The speech marked Obama’s first televised address from the Oval Office, a move that many believe shows the severity of the crisis of the oil spill in the Gulf.

Obama is pushing for Congress to pass green-energy and climate-change legislation, but some critics believe his best hope for passing legislation before the midterms may lie with a bill introduced this month by Indiana Republican Senator Richard Lugar. The bill would address greenhouse-gas reduction only indirectly by providing incentives for alternative fuels and imposing tougher energy efficiency norms for cars and buildings.

The Globe and Mail, By Konrad Yakabuski

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obama-condemns-bp-champions-green-energy/

June 15 – Kenyans should lead the way in conserving the environment instead of waiting for government intervention, urged Prince Albert II of Monaco, during a visit to the country on Monday.

Prince Albert II and the Green Africa Foundation entered into partnership in 2007 to establish a 50-hectare pilot Jatropha plantation in Yatta Division. The partners are working on establishing seed collection centres and oil extraction plants throughout the country where Jatropha farming is taking place.

So far, more than 4,000 farmers in Kenya have embraced Jatropha curcas cultivation.

Daily Nation, By Nation Correspondent
Link: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenya%20set%20to%20use%20fuel%20from%20plants/-/1056/939764/-/pp99sx/-/

June 16 – The state Public Utilities Commission has given Hawaiian Electric Co. permission to test biofuel blends in a 90-megawatt steam turbine generating unit that currently uses low sulfur fuel oil.

The test will determine how much biofuel can be mixed with petroleum in existing steam turbines that provide power on Oahu, Maui and the Big island and is part of Hawaii’s effort to switch from “black” fuel to “green” fuel.

“If successful, using biofuel will reduce our dependence on imported oil, help meet our 40 percent renewable energy goal by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president.

Bloomberg Businessweek
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9GCEA300.htm

June 13 – Entrepreneurs, more than big oil companies, hold the keys to unlocking a world where biofuel powers the globe.

Big Oil companies are doing little to move away from petroleum fuel, as opposed to their slogans. BP is “Beyond Petroleum” while Chevron is “Finding newer, cleaner ways to power the world.” Shell’s slogan is “Let’s pass energy on to the next generation” and ExxonMobil is “Taking on the world’s toughest energy challenges.”

President Obama, in reaction to the recent massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, said in a speech at Carnegie Mellon University, “The next generation will not be held hostage to energy sources from the last century… but the only way the transition to clean energy will ultimately succeed is if the private sector is fully invested in this future – if capital comes off the sidelines and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs is unleashed.”

The Washington Post, By Deborah Gordon and Daniel Sperling
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/11/AR2010061103256.html

June 7 – Of the billions of dollars that have been poured into the biofuel sector, only a fraction has been designated to Africa. That is beginning to change.

Africa has more winter sun than any other continent on earth and its unused and underused land is plentiful. Biomass in Tropical Africa is already the continent’s third main energy source, after hydrocarbons in the north and coal in the south, and it is the source of half the energy currently consumed on the continent.

In recent years, rising oil prices, growing concern about climate change, and Africa’s belated recognition that it stands to benefit considerably from the growth of the biofuel sector has opened the channels for biofuel investment.

Brazil, along with China and the EU, have been quick to identify Africa as a region with the ideal agro-climatic conditions, and the socio-economic potential, needed to become a large-scale global biofuel feedstock provider over the next decade, and are now beginning to direct investment flows to turn potential into reality.

The New Economy, By Michael Dynes
Link: http://www.theneweconomy.com/news/science-and-technology/article535.html