Big Potential For SME's Biomass Products If Commercialised Using Local Technologies
KUCHING, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- There is a huge potential in the biomass industry if biomass products from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are commercialised using the untapped but readily available biomass technologies from local universities and research institutes, Biomass-SP Techical Advisor Datuk Leong Kim Muin said Tuesday.
He said Malaysia produced a minimum of 168 million tons of biomass, including timber, oil palm and sugar cane wastes, rice husk, coconut trunk fibres and municipal waste annually but their full potential for commercialisation remained untapped.
"The Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) can be a strategic partner for export oriented SMEs that still do not know how to maximise their biomass products through innovation to meet European Union (EU) green procurement standards," he told a media conference here in conjunction with an announcement of a four-year initiative for SMEs in the Malaysian biomass industry.
Citing the palm oil frond that could be commercialised for bio-sugar product that could be used as a catalyst in the chemical process, he said, it had the potential to fetch between RM1,000-RM2,000 per kg with the ready technology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
At present, the big players in oil palm industry are not keen on such ventures as they are still concerned with the cost factor, with biomass products being used as fertilisers, he said.
In the timber-based industry, he said, sawdust could be commercialised into pellets, nutrients for mushrooms and charcoal while sawmill waste into wood chips which had a ready market.
He said the Biomass-SP, as a non-profit project funded by the EU under the Switch-Asia programme, had ready buyers and investors to help local SMEs besides having good access to the EU market comprising 27 countries, by match-making them with the relevant universities and research institutions.
Under the initiative, called the EU-Malaysia Biomass Entrepreneurs Nurturing Programme, Leong said 50 qualified Malaysian biomass SMEs would be selected by year's end.
They would participate in a series of coaching activities on subjects relevant to biomass commercialisation such as financing and funding opportunities, implementation of environmental management systems, clean development mechanism and carbon footprint management.
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