London, 26 October 2011

Africa Renewables Ltd ("AfriRen"), the biomass producer and trader, has signed an exclusive five year supply agreement with Verdo for the woodchip production of their Ghana project. AfriRen estimates the total biomass to be delivered over the contract period will be 750,000 metric tonnes, effectively doubling biomass exports from Africa to Europe.

This sale is a landmark for AfriRen as it cements five years of future revenue enabling the funding of other planned biomass projects across West Africa. Set up in April 2010, AfriRen has successfully developed a sophisticated biomass extraction chain enabling the transformation of unproductive trees from rubber plantations into marketable woodchips for the European energy market.

Along with managing the felling activity which began on September 1st, AfriRen is also active in securing an additional €5 million financing from commercial banks and international investors.

The Verdo Group is a multi-utility company based in Randers, Denmark, employing over 500 staff with a turnover of €350 million. Verdo owns and operates a biomass fuelled power station supplying heat and power to the 50,000 residents of Randers, alongside two plants in the UK producing 150,000 metric tonnes of wood pellets/briquettes per year. Verdo is also an active biomass trader in Europe moving over one million tonnes of fuel per year and is therefore well prepared to manage sale of the entire volume of wood chips on exclusive basis.

Integra Fuels, a leader in the development of the solid biomass fuels industry, will join with the Verdo Group and AfriRen to provide its expertise and experience of Africa, the forestry industry and the biomass supply chain management. Integra has been active throughout Africa since 1976 where it has led or facilitated the exports of large tonnages of biomass and forestry products into Asia and Europe, with a particular emphasis in the Mediterranean Region.

Following the announcement Sonia Medina, COO at AfriRen, said: “Our agreement with Verdo expands our business horizon as Verdo has been active in the European biomass market for over 10 years, and the company’s knowledge of the industry is unrivalled. This relationship will be invaluable for us as they are both end users and marketers of our biomass product.”

“Verdo is the perfect partner for us as they are dynamic, flexible and ethical. We share the same vision of a transformed European energy market exceeding the 2020 target for secure renewable energy production and reduced CO2 emissions.”

Kim Frimer, CEO at Verdo, added: “We view this agreement as a strategic partnership. AfriRen provides us with exclusive long-term sustainable source of biomass which further diversifies our supply chain. It offers us a port [Takoradi] that is open all year round and unlike Baltic ports, which are prone to freezing, allows for exports of much dryer woodchips with higher energy content than those from other parts of the world. Meanwhile we provide AfriRen with our unique expertise to ensure they hit their ambitious growth targets.”

The AfriRen biomass extraction chain in Ghana harvests redundant rubber trees that are cut in order to prepare for replanting, and processes them into woodchips, helping displace the burning of coal and assisting Europe meet its renewable energy policy target. Denmark is a remarkably ambitious country with a 30% renewable energy target by 2020, compared to 20% for the overall European Union. The AfriRen project is facilitated by an eight-year partnership with Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL), a subsidiary of SIFCA, the no. 1 West African agro-industrial group with a €600 million turnover.

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