Major conference throws the spotlight on biofuels

May 3 2004 By Jennifer Mackenzie, The Journal

A first major conference aimed at encouraging farmers, transport operators and local authorities to reap the rewards of the booming biofuels market is being staged in the North-East.

The event, this Thursday, May 6, at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, is being organised by North East Biofuels.

North East Biofuels is a consortium headed by One NorthEast and private sector companies Petroplus, SembCorp Utilities, Simon Storage, Agrovista, Terra, Farmway, East Durham Biofuels, ReNew and the Teesside Chemical Initiative (TCI).

It is also backed by the DTI. With speakers from the oil, chemical and agricultural industries, as well as Europe's leading expert on renewable fuels, Werner Koerbitz of the Austrian Biofuels Institute, the event is the first of its kind in the region.

Phil Hughes, board member of One NorthEast and speaker at the conference, said: "Transport fuels made from renewable sources have the potential to make a real contribution to improving the environment and to the region's rural and urban economies.

"They address the issue of global warming, urban pollution, the depletion of fossil fuels, rural sustainability and industrial growth.

"Anyone who has responsibility for rural and industrial development or are involved in renewable fuels and recycling should find this conference invaluable.

"We hope it will attract people who see biofuels as a business opportunity, be they farmer, industrialists or transport operators."

Presentations at the conference will outline some of the investment planned in the North-East to develop the sector with the potential to create new jobs and business.

Petroplus, the UK's leading supplier of biodiesel, is a member of North East Biofuels and is backing the event.

Ian Waller, technical services manager for Petroplus, said: "North East Biofuels is an alliance of companies and organisations committed to the development of a sustainable transport biofuels business in the region.

"As an important step forward in our aim, we have organised this conference to inform interested parties of this emerging and exciting opportunity and share experiences of developing the sector in other parts of the world."

* The North East Biofuels Conference takes place on Thursday, May 6, at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough. For more information please contact Dawn Topping at the Teesside Chemical Initiative on Tel: (01642) 868683.