Norway's Aker Kvaerner Group and India's bio-ethanol technology provider Praj Industries have signed an agreement to extend their collaboration and create a joint venture for the European biofuels market.
The two companies first joined forces in 2006, through a strategic alliance on bio-ethanol projects in Europe. In a press release, Aker Kvaerner commented that, as Europe has to reach a target of 10% biofuels blending by 2020, thereby expanding the market opportunity for biofuel plants, the companies had decided to extend their collaboration to a joint venture in the biofuels market.
Aker Kvaerner said that the joint venture will offer European customers access to the complete scope of services required for license, plant design and construction, along with seamless integration and application of the Praj technology.
The joint venture will be located in the Netherlands. Praj will hold 60% of the venture while Aker Kvaerner’s Netherlands unit will hold the remaining 40%. Aker Kvaerner said that the joint venture will combine the company’s execution capabilities and extensive European market knowledge with the technological expertise of Praj.
The Norwegian company said that using bio-ethanol, which is derived from renewable sources such as plants, can lead to a reduction of up to 70% in overall carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional petrol-only engines. The company added that the venture would therefore allow it to capitalize on the growing market for environmentally-friendly energy technologies.