News

January 19, 2010

The Rise And Fall Of Jatropha: Gem Biofuels Is In Better Shape Than D1 Oils, But Still Has A Lot To Prove

By Rue Swabey

Jatropha, which was not so long ago hailed as a “wonder crop” that could be used in biodiesel production without competing with food crops, continues to lose credibility. A May 2009 report published by Friends of the Earth argues that there are “major problems with cultivating jatropha as a biofuel crop”. The report specifically looks at Swaziland where Aim-traded D1 Oils has been developing jatropha plantations. The authors found that contrary to claims made by D1 Oils’ management, jatropha does not grow well on marginal land. Yield is affected by poor soil-quality meaning that farmers end up using good quality land to grow jatropha to the detriment of food crops. The report also questions whether jatropha could grow with limited water, as some have claimed. Farmers in Swaziland report that jatropha needs to be watered between one and three times a week. The report concludes that jatropha should not be grown for biofuel production.

Meanwhile UK-based D1 Oils, which appears to be failing spectacularly to deliver on its target to produce biodiesel from planned one million hectare jatropha plantations in India and Africa, is locked in a battle between directors. D1 Oils, which was listed on Aim in 2004, had set itself up as vertically integrated “earth to engine” biodiesel business with a UK refinery. But the business model fell apart, as reported at the time here on Poweralternatives, and founder and non-executive director...