Viridesco News

2009:

• October: James Scruby and Christopher Hunter attend and participate at the Jatropha World Africa conference in Brussels
  involving around 100 international delegates comprising jatropha farmers, investors and academics. Christopher Hunter chaired the opening morning session and then presented on a ‘4-year old plantation – performance and yields’. James Scruby took part in the financing roundtable and then presented on ‘Pure jatropha oil – improving jatropha business efficiency’.
  
• September: James Scruby and Christopher Hunter take part in a webinar Q & A session entitled “Will Jatropha become another ‘DotCom Bubble’? How can the Jatropha industry consolidate and strengthen for the long-term?” The webinar playback is now available at the following link:
  http://www.cmtevents.com/eventposts.aspx?feedid=463&ev=091021&
• August: Set-up of crushing unit nearing completion
  The establishment of a jatropha-powered seed crusher for Eagle farm is now underway. The expeller press itself is already set up and the crushing of small quantities of seed has already taken place. The gensets and accompanying Elsbett conversions have now been ordered and are on their way to Eagle Farm. This will put Viridesco in a position to start production and sales of oil in Q1 2010 as planned.
• July: GVEP (Global Village Energy Partnership) publishes an article written by Christopher Hunter in its July newsletter - Click here for more

• February: Viridesco and Elsbett establish a cooperation with Aston University on pure Jatropha oil fuel
  Viridesco and Elsbett are pleased to have been asked by Aston University of the UK to cooperate with the University on a project to assess the performance of pure Jatropha oil as a fuel for use in a diesel engine. This academic study will focus on the characteristics of different plant oil fuels and their performance in a diesel test engine. Viridesco and Elsbett are supplying samples of Jatropha oil to Aston University for the research.
  
  “The fact that Aston University has asked Viridesco and Elsbett to supply pure Jatropha oil for this research confirms Viridesco as one of the very few companies worldwide capable of supplying pure Jatropha oil of a high quality and guaranteed provenance. We are very pleased to cooperate with Aston University on this research as it contributes towards our commercial approach of using pure Jatropha oil with no chemical processing directly as a biofuel together with Elsbett technology.” commented James Scruby, a Director of Viridesco.
  
  He added, “ It seems obvious to us that a single, straightforward engine modification makes more sense than chemically modifying every single litre of plant oil that the same engine might use in its lifetime. This is particularly true in less developed parts of the world where access to energy through simple and affordable processes is at a premium.”
• January: Indicative data for 2009 yields are patchy but generally encouraging
  Indicative yields of Jatropha seed from the oldest bushes in Viridesco’s Mozambique project are encouraging and exceed our yield expectations on a “per bush” basis. However, more recently planted bushes that had experienced pest and disease damage have demonstrated lower yields than expected.
  
  Christopher Hunter, a Director of Viridesco, remarked, “I have just visited our Mozambique project and was very encouraged by the seed yields that we are seeing from the oldest bushes. More recently planted areas of the project have experienced pest and disease damage in the past and this is still affecting yields from those bushes. It has been part of the learning curve for us to identify and act on the problems that can arise and we have developed a lot of experience on this front. Fortunately, the affected bushes are not a large part of the project and we expect to be able to raise yields from those plants in the future.”

2008:

• November: Viridesco closes financing round for project expansion and development
  Viridesco has closed an initial financing round with external investors to expand the existing cultivated area of the project in Mozambique, establish a local grower’s scheme to grow Jatropha biofuel for the local market and to set up a local production facility at the project.
  
  “The fact that we have been able to attract outside investment in the current climate is an important sign of support for Viridesco’s local model of energy production and supply based on Jatropha. These funds enable us to push on with expansion of the project and setting up of local fuel production for local communities” commented Christopher Hunter, a Director Viridesco.
• May: Viridesco presents the pure Jatropha oil approach at the Energia Global conference in Madrid.
  James Scruby, a Director of Viridesco, was one of the speakers at a Jatropha conference in Madrid organised by Energia Global. The discussion focused on the progress of Viridesco’s project in Mozambique and the way in which Viridesco has learned to deal with cultivation and farming issues relating to Jatropha. Viridesco is one of the very few companies worldwide that is producing Jatropha oil of a reliable quality and provenance. In conjunction with Elsbett AG, Viridesco is focusing on the use of pure Jatropha oil as a fuel in its own right. This is a proven and reliable approach that was first pioneered by Elsbett in 1985. Elsbett is a world leader in this technology.
  
  “Jatropha oil is an excellent biofuel in its pure form when used with reliable engine technology for pure plant operation. Elsbett has pioneered this approach for the last 25 years and has excellent technology for this approach. Use of pure Jatropha oil means no chemicals or chemical processing. We believe that Viridesco is one of the very few companies worldwide that can currently supply sample quantities of pure Jatropha oil with a guaranteed provenance and to a given quality. We are receiving a large number of requests from fuel producers and research institutes searching for a reliable source of Jatropha oil for testing.” Said James Scruby, a Director of Viridesco.
• March: Viridesco supplies Jatropha oil to Repsol for tests and research.
  Repsol, the Spanish oil company has taken delivery of Jatropha oil supplied by Viridesco from its trial crushing program conducted in cooperation with Elsbett AG. The oil was supplied together with a laboratory analysis and confirmation of origin. Supply of Jatropha oil to Repsol confirms Viridesco’s position as one of the very few Jatropha companies that is in a position to supply Jatropha oil of a guaranteed quality.
  
  Viridesco has approximately 120 customers for its oil samples and can supply anywhere in the world subject to transport costs. Customers include biodiesel and pure oil biofuel producers as well as research establishments. Viridesco’s customers are located mainly in Europe and the USA.
  
  James Scruby, a Director of Viridesco commented, “Our Jatropha oil customers value the fact that we supply a high grade pure Jatropha oil which is very close to DIN 51605 specification and is supplied with guaranteed provenance as to its crushing process and origin. They can be sure that they receive what they expect. Delivery is also well organised with two day delivery to Texas, for example, within our capability.”
• February: Promising seed yields from Viridesco’s oldest trees.
  The oldest Jatropha bushes at Viridesco’s Mozambique plantation have yielded over 3kgs of seed. These trees were planted in 2005 and have not received any preferential irrigation or fertilisation. However, the bushes have been protected from pests and insects that have affected some of the later plantings at the project. The yield results are encouraging and confirm the basic assumptions that have been made in respect of plant yields.
  
  Christopher Hunter, a Director of Viridesco, remarked, “The yields that we are seeing at our project in Mozambique are in line with our expectations and demonstrate that Jatropha can be grown to yield viable quantities of Jatropha seed without large investment in irrigation and fertiliser application.”.

2007:

• Nov: The Jatropha oil from the milling tests is now AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. Contact Christopher Hunter on 0207 125 0057 or email: chris.hunter@viridesco.com
• Sept: Viridesco issues press release
• Aug: Viridesco completed the first industrial-scale jatropha oil milling tests on two varieties of Jatropha in August 2007 in conjunction with Biomotor GmbH. The tests were successful and yielded 4,000 litres of oil, using crushing equipment which is of a suitable type for localised use in the developing world.
• July: Viridesco director, James Scruby, has recently had an Elsbett engine conversion and is now running his car in the UK on Jatropha oil. It is believed to be the first Jatropha-fueled car in the country.
• June: Viridesco receives initial funding for its first project in Mozambique and is pursuing further growth.