Addax Bioenergy starts production of bioethanol and power in Sierra Leone

Addax Bioenergy has now started its first production of bioethanol and renewable electricity at the plant in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Production is estimated at 85,000 m3 of bioethanol per year by the end of 2016 and the plant is expected to contribute approximately 20% of the country’s current production of electricity.

Addax Bioenergy was established in 2008 and the investment, an integrated agriculture and bioenergy project, includes the development of sugar cane fields, the establishment of an ethanol refinery and a bioenergy plant for production of electricity. The surplus from the electricity generated will contribute about 20% of the current production of electricity in Sierra Leone and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 56,000 tCO2 per year.

Addax Bioenergy is the first company of its kind in Africa that is certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), and the first initiative in Sierra Leone to be registered as a Clean Development Mechanism project under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In March 2014, the entire plant, including the factory, received certification under RSB, which is recognition of Addax Bioenergy’s proactive sustainability efforts.

“Swedfund goal is to reduce extreme poverty in the world’s most vulnerable countries by creating jobs in sustainable and viable businesses. Through Addax Bioenergy over 2,700 people have been provided with formal employment and many have also received professional training. The company is dedicated to strengthening the local community and its residents. It is gratifying to see that the ethanol production is now underway”, said Lena Algerin, Senior Investment Manager at Swedfund.

Read the press release from Addax Bioenergy.