As fears concerning the security of fossil fuel supplies grow ever stronger, South Africa is increasingly focusing attention on the establishment of a viable biofuels market that will ease the country’s reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

It is within this context that a conference will be hosted in Cape Town next month, to examine the potential of the African biofuels market.     

The third Annual Biofuels Markets Africa conference will bring together executives from across Africa to discuss strategies that will enhance development of a sustainable regional biofuels industry.

The objective of the conference is to provide executives with information relating to biofuels business opportunities on the continent, how sustainable biofuels production can be assured, how investment can be secured, and how African feedstock suppliers can get involved in supplying European markets.

Crucially, the conference will also address the question of how Africa can adapt to a bio-energy economy and reduce dependence of fossil fuels.

Speakers at the conference will include government representatives from South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia as well as industry representatives from the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Burkina Faso.

This conference is appropriately timed as the biofuels sector has been receiving increased attention, particularly in South Africa, over the last year.

In particular, the approval of the Biofuel Industrial Strategy for South Africa by the Department of Minerals and Energy in December last year provides fresh impetus to the biofuels market in South Africa, providing a foundation and road map to push the market forward.

The Biofuels draft strategy aims to achieve a biofuels average market penetration of 4,5%, of liquid road transport fuels, both petrol and diesel, in South Africa by 2013, which is achievable without excessive support by using surplus agricultural capacity.

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