Addax Bioenergy
Addax Bioenergy is a sugarcane-based renewable energy company that has launched a sustainable bioenergy project in Sierra Leone. A subsidiary of AOG, we initiated the project in Makeni in 2008 and it started its operations in 2014. We will produce sustainable bio-ethanol from sugarcane for export and for domestic use, as well as ‘green’ electricity from a biomass-fuelled plant that will power the ethanol refinery and supply approximately 20 per cent of the needs of the Sierra Leone national grid. Sugarcane is widely recognised as the most efficient and sustainable crop for biofuel production; and, with its suitable land, tropical climate and development ambitions, Sierra Leone offers favourable conditions for the initiative.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Service provider
- Industry Type:
- Energy - Bioenergy
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
About Us
Addax Bioenergy has broken new ground by integrating strict social and environmental criteria from the start and through its partnership with eight international development finance institutions. The respect of stringent sustainability standards, the introduction of innovative social solutions and transparent business conduct reflect our ambition to become a model for sustainable bioenergy and agriculture investment in Africa.
Examples of our approach to date include our extensive and transparent stakeholder dialogue, helping landowners establish their first deeds of land ownership, enhancing local food security and agricultural productivity, as well as extensive infrastructure development.
Vision
Addax Bioenergy aims to become a model for renewable energy and sustainable agriculture in Africa.
We intend to capitalise on our in-depth knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa and our ambition to integrate economic, social and environmental parameters from the start to drive mutual success. The model should be applicable to other projects in the future.
Values
We are entrepreneurial investors and share the operating principles and cultural values that drive the success of all AOG activities.
In particular, we aim to be Alert, Principled and Adaptable. These are the values that define and unit AOG people and shape the way we do business.
Alert
We thrive on a challenge and are known for taking bold, yet carefully calculated, risks. Not surprisingly, we avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and do not let institutional dogma slow us down.
Principled
We are shrewd operators, but we never compromise our principles, which are based on strong ethics and mutual respect. We are fair, honest, direct and transparent in our dealings and do not tolerate prejudice, discrimination or dishonesty.
Adaptable
We have a talent for developing new areas of business, and we are at ease in diverse and changing environments and cultures. Our ability to adapt is vital to our business success and enables us to integrate locally, without compromising our principles, our global outlook and long-term vision.
History
Addax Bioenergy was formed in 2008 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOG. It was founded with the vision of developing a sustainable bioenergy investment model in Africa.
Funded solely by AOG until the end of 2011, Addax Bioenergy has taken a long-term view from the start, with full-scale production only scheduled for 2014. We first carried out a three-year Environmental, Social, Health Impacts Assessment and a series of independent studies between 2008 and 2010.
The ground-breaking of the ethanol refinery and the sugarcane biomass-fuelled electricity plant took place in November 2011.
A consortium of eight European and African development finance institutions are participating in the funding of the project. Financial close took place in December 2011.
The planting of sugarcane and the construction of the bioethanol factory and biomass fuelled power plant are ongoing.
Strategy
We aim to develop a sustainable investment model for renewable energy and agriculture in Africa, recognising that bioenergy presents a significant opportunity for the continent’s energy and agricultural sectors.
We have adopted an approach that integrates economic, social and environmental elements from the start:
1. Direct investment
This aims to ensure the pace and scale of investment, and the quality of project implementation;
2. Transfer of agricultural knowledge
In one of the poorest regions of the country, this allows us to sustainably improve local food security and to transfer expertise in sugarcane development and agricultural practices for the project itself;
3. Transfer of industrial know-how
As the project unfolds, with the development of a refinery and biomass power plant, there is the opportunity for local people to diversify their skills;
4. The application of best practices
The funding of the project with eight international development finance institutions reflects our ambition to ensure the project respects the highest social and environmental standards from the start;
5. Access to international trade
We benefit from access to international markets, thanks to the free-trade agreements that Sierra Leone has with the EU and the US.
Certification
The RSB Services Foundation, the implementation entity of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), attributed the RSB sustainability certification to Addax Bioenergy's sugarcane estate in Makeni, Sierra Leone, in February 2013. The certification is the first for any biofuels entity on the African continent.