Plan De Negocios Pellets

2010 South African Biomass Gasification Technology Innovation Leadership Award

Carbo Consult & Engineering (Pty) Ltd

2 010 South African Biomass Gasification
Technology Innovation Leadership Award

© 2009 Frost & Sullivan

1

“We Accelerate Growth”

2010 South African Biomass Gasification Technology Innovation Leadership Award

Carbo Consult & Engineering (Pty) Ltd

F rost &Sullivan’s Glob al R esearch P latform
F rost & Sullivan is entering its 4 9 th year in b usiness with a glob al research
organiz ation of 1,8 00 analysts and consultants who monitor more than 3 00 industries and 25 0,000 companies.
The C ompany’s research philosophy originates with the C E O ’s 3 6 0 D egree P erspective,* which in turn serves as
the foundation of its TE AM R esearch* *methodology. This uniq ue approach enab les us to determine how b estin-class companies worldwide manage growth, innovation and leadership. Based on the findings of this Best
P ractices research, F rost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2010 South Africa Technology Innovation Award in
South Africa to C arb o C onsult & E ngineering.

S ignificance of the Technology Innovation Award
K ey Industry Challenges Addressed b y Technology Innovation Leadership
The three k ey challenges facing the b iomass gasification mark et within South Africa are:
x

H igh C apital C osts of E q uipment

x

Availab ility of F eedstock

x

C ompeting Technologies

H igh C apital C osts of E q uipment
E fficiencies attained b y BM G systems are higher than those of small scale steam turb inegeneration units utiliz ed
for application in the agricultural industry for cogeneration of electricity. H owever, the capital costs of BM G
systems are far greater particularly when including the costs of ancillary systems such as feedstock pretreatment systems. Initial valuation of power generation systems shown b y potential end-user is price sensitive,
and hence, favours simple steam turb ineunits. The ab ility to mitigate maintenance and repair costs and ensure
a longer product lifespan, thereb y increasing the return on investment of the system, will create a more
attractive solution for electricity generation to potential industry end-users.
Availab ility of F eedstock
D ue to the large capital costs of b iomass gasification system development, it is important that there is asignificantly high availab ility of feedstock for system operation in order to increase the efficiency of power
production and decrease the eq uipment payb ack period. Technology innovation, such as the System Johansen
Gasifier, targeted to specific, small, niche mark ets represents a significant opportunity for mark et development
and ex pansion within South African. P otential attractive markets include community development or private
electricity consumption b y independent industry players. N iche mark et targeting could therefore b e achieved
through limiting the installed capacities of these gasifier systems, such as the System Johansen Gasifier that only
range from 4 0k W to 16 0k W (25 5 k W if turb ocharged). By limiting the total siz e of these systems while
maintaininghigh efficiencies, these systems decrease the potential for interruptions in feedstock supply while
ideally targeting the ab ove small niche mark ets.

© 2009 Frost & Sullivan

2

“We Accelerate Growth”

2010 South African Biomass Gasification Technology Innovation Leadership Award

Carbo Consult & Engineering (Pty) Ltd

C ompeting Technologies
There are other technologies made available to small niche mark ets for power generation other than b iomass
gasification technologies. These technologies, mainly simple steam turb ines and generator sets, have significantly
lower capital costs than those of BM G facilities. Steam turb ine systems represent a particular threat due to the
large cost differences b etween these technologies and the lack of ex tensive pre-treatment of...