Given today’s growing awareness of the limits of crude-oil resources, the search for alternative sources of energy becomes more and more important. Brazil has huge agricultural surfaces and is, therefore, predestined to promote and advance the utilization of biomass. Abundant resources of soybean oil are available due to soybean production for feed. In the winter, sun-flower oil offers an interesting intercrop.

Geoklock, a leading Brazilian company of environmental engineers was looking for partners for a feasibility study to build small, local units producing bio diesel for local use. In this manner, farms would be able to cover their own requirements as to fuel for tractors, harvesters, and lorries based on their own production (cluster economy). Datuma financed the feasibility study and substantially contributed to a first pilot unit that will be realized in 2006. The core of it all is a plant the size of a container in which the plant oil is converted into bio diesel.

The respective technology is provided by a Swiss company, the plants themselves can be produced in Brazil. A minimum of 30% of the suppliers will be small family concerns, a prerequisite to be granted the “social fuel” label. Datuma allows this project to be realized that is in a market niche that would not possibly allow it to be financed in Brazil itself given its currently very high interests.

www.geoklock.com.br/default.asp?idiomaId=2