UK company to produce fuel from organic waste

Gazasia, a UK company that develops waste-derived biofuels, is to begin operations in the Philippines to develop a vehicle fuel made from organic waste products in landfill. The company creates liquid biomethane – a carbon-neutral, sustainable and high-quality vehicle fuel – by cleaning and refining the natural gas produced by organic waste found in landfill sites.

In the Philippines, as throughout much of the world, landfill remains the most common means of waste disposal. But left alone, it creates potentially damaging gases, including methane and carbon dioxide. Gazasia cleans this methane and converts it to liquid biomethane, creating a clean and commercially viable fuel, as well as preventing harmful methane being released into the environment.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc (AEV) announced it had signed an agreement in London with Gazasia worth US$ 150 million to fund the development of plants to create liquid biomethane from organic waste.

Vehicle fuel prices in Asia have risen sharply over the last year and are expected to continue rising. Many governments throughout the region are subsidising fuel costs but have insufficient resources to maintain their subsidies indefinitely.

“The impact of higher vehicle fuel prices has been especially severe in South East Asia,” says Richard Lilleystone, CEO of Gazasia. “Public transport is essential to the workforce. Rising fuel costs have a direct impact on transport costs and food prices, which of course has the greatest impact on those least able to afford it.”

The use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel is growing across the world, and particularly in South East Asia. It is an economical alternative to fuel, and has a positive impact on air quality. Waste organic material is abundant and inexhaustible, making the fuel sustainable, and unaffected by the sort of geopolitical events that impact on oil-based fuels and lead to price volatility.