With Costa Rican trials done, Fla. firm seeks jatropha scale-up
May 23, 2013
BY Alternative Fuels Americas Inc.
Alternative Fuels Americas Inc. announced on May 22 that it has successfully completed research trials targeting jatropha trees as a feedstock source for profitably produced, sustainable biodiesel, and is moving to establish aboveground oil fields in Central America as a staged entry into a market forecasted to exceed $500 billion by 2019.
AFAI operates a 25-acre pilot plantation with 40,000 mature jatropha trees in Tempate, Costa Rica. During the past years, AFAI has conducted trials to establish best-practice protocols for maximum crop yield and production profitability. AFAI has successfully concluded its trials and plans to transition its activities to commercial scale.
“We have a strong degree of certainty that we can successfully farm and harvest jatropha for the purpose of profitably producing biodiesel,” said AFAI CEO Craig Frank. “We have dedicated much time and substantial resources to reaching this goal, which was a necessary rite of passage. Now that we have reached our breakthrough we can continue towards profitably producing and selling biodiesel and initiate our plans to enter additional markets worldwide.”
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