Tor Anders Petteroe Company

Zambia’s in trouble and the deforestation rate is the highest in the world. This is because over two-thirds of the population lives off the grid and relies on charcoal for heating and cooking.

Many Zambian households rely on subsistence farming to provide for themselves and their families with one of the lowest GDPs per capita in Africa. For some, producing and selling charcoal is also another source of income, which only encourages deforestation.

Charcoal, in case you didn’t know, is made from heating wood in a low-oxygen environment, a process known as pyrolysis. However, this process isn’t unique to wood and SavSmart Biomass has plans to use similar processes to combat deforestation in Zambia.

Less Wood is Good

SavSmart Biomass’ solution is to offer a greener alternative solution to charcoal while also providing opportunities for locals, creating jobs, and helping Zambia to wean itself off its charcoal dependency.

The way to use less charcoal is by creating fuel from something other than wood. Fossil fuels are not the solution as Zambia already relies too heavily on them and needs to improve its use of green fuels to meet the SADC and Paris Accord targets.

As the name suggests, SavSmart Biomass plans to use plant-based materials. The plan is to plant, harvest, and refine biomass from the miscanthus giganteus plant.

What’s So Special About this Plant?

Miscanthus giganteus is a special hybrid of two types of grass native to Asia. This particular plant is regularly referred to as the “ideal” energy plant.

The plant doesn’t require much herbicide or pesticide and by its second season, it can be harvested yearly. As a perennial plant, it doesn’t require replanting after harvest and can last over 25 years.

While the initial cost of establishing miscanthus is around $2,900 per hectare, it’s very low-maintenance and, therefore, low cost throughout its lifespan. It’s also high-yield and high-energy and has a calorific value 4 times that of wood or corn.

Once harvested, the plant can undergo the aforementioned pyrolysis process and turn the biomass into gas or liquid products. The whole burning process is also done with little to no oxygen present meaning there are little to no emissions produced.

The green diesel made from this is chemically identical to traditional diesel so it can be mixed to create more environmentally-friendly fuels.

Who’s Helping Them?

From isolating a suitable plant to refining the biomass, there’s a lot to be done. SavSmart Biomass is working with American and Zambian universities to sort out the rhizomes for the plant and train local agronomists in Zambia.

They’re also working with groups like AgriSmart Zambia, an NGO focusing on sustainable agricultural technology and research.

Through an out-grower scheme, they’ll also be working with locals and providing them with ways to earn through cultivating and harvesting miscanthus giganteus.

Of course, the project also relied on founding investors like Michael Silver and Tor Anders Petterøe and others to secure land for plantations, etc.

Over the next few years, SavSmart Biomass plans to expand its capacity, set up the refinery with the help of Technotherm, and use miscanthus giganteus to create greener sources of fuel in Zambia.