China ‘kills two birds’ with biofuel, fuelling opportunities?

 China ‘kills two birds’ with biofuel, fuelling opportunities?

KUALA LUMPUR (September 2017): South China Morning Post (SCMP)’s Sept 13, 2017, news report titled “China plans nationwide use of biofuel petrol by 2020” is certainly interesting.

It means there will be a mammoth demand for biofuel and thus, perhaps, opportunities to invest into biofuel production and related products.

And, China’s multi-billion-dollar One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative can be considered as a choice location for investors and businesses.

OBOR’s infrastructure and land space are already in place for those wanting to seize and launch their foray into business and trade in a region that is dubbed to become a global footprint for trans-border businesses and economic joint-ventures (JVs).

And China is “killing two birds with one stone”, so to speak, as the use of ethanol is hoped to boost demand for corn and help curb choking levels of smog from fossil-powered vehicles.

Here’s what was reported by SCMP:

"China plans nationwide use of biofuel petrol by 2020

Wider use of ethanol comes as Beijing tries to boost demand for corn and to curb choking levels of smog

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 13 September, 2017, 10:46am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 13 September, 2017, 10:46am

China plans to roll out the use of ethanol in petrol nationally by 2020, state media reported on Wednesday citing a government document, as Beijing intensifies its push to boost industrial demand for corn and clean up choking smog.

It is the first time the government has set a targeted timeline for pushing the biofuel, known as E10 and containing 10 per cent corn, across the world’s largest car market.

A renewed effort to promote biofuels will be a further blow to major oil producers. The government said on Saturday it had begun studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels.

Why Beijing’s plan to stop producing petrol and diesel cars could be a game-changer for the industry

The news comes after the government said it would aim to double ethanol output by 2020 amid growing pressure to whittle down mountains of ageing corn in state warehouses.

The report on Wednesday said the government also aims to have large-scale domestic production of cellulosic biofuels, which are made from sources such as grasses, trees and crop waste, by 2025.

China is the world’s third-largest ethanol producer, but with output of about 2.1 million tonnes a year, production is a long way behind global leaders Brazil and the United States. - SCMP

 China Will Use 12 Million Tons of Biofuel as Aircraft Fuel by 2020

In August 2012 the National Energy Administration of China announced its 12th Five-Year (2011 – 2015) Plan for the Development of Renewable Energies. Its annual consumption target for renewable energies for 2015 is 478 million tons (carbon equipment) of which the amount of biomass energy that will be us estimated to be 50 million tons. When it comes to biofuels, it has set up usage targets of 3.5 million tons for bioethanol and 1.5 million tons for biodiesel fuel. - Asia Biomass Office"