NanoMalaysia has introduced the Biomass Innovation Circular Economy Programme (BICEP) — an initiative towards sustainable agriculture by promoting the use of biomass waste materials from agricultural sources to produce high-quality advanced materials and products for industrial and consumer applications as part of its ESG aspirations.
The BICEP programme is poised to unlock the value the green potential of biomass waste materials in Malaysia from agricultural sources for the production of valuable advanced materials such as Graphene, Nanocellulose and Nanosilica in multiple collaborations with players in the country to meet the localization of supply chains demand expressed by the industry. This initiative is supported under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Strategic Research Fund (SRF), a special financing scheme program for the development of Science, Technology, Innovation and Economy in areas identified to have a high impact on the country and in line with the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (DSTIN).
As transitioning towards a circular economy is one of the key agendas for Malaysia under the 12th Malaysia Plan, BICEP aims to spearhead the development of strategic technology and innovation by leading the commercialisation of “waste to wealth” valuable raw materials to become a leading biomass hub in the region.
BICEP is aligned with the main thrusts of the National Biotechnology Policy 2.0 (DBN 2.0), which consists of agricultural biotechnology and food security, healthcare and wellbeing, and biotechnology in industrialisation and circular economy. This programme will help spur Malaysia’s economic prospect, which has all the right building blocks for companies to grow in this area. By design, BICEP is also compatible with the aspirations of the National Nanotechnology Policy and Strategy 2030 in the areas of nanomaterials production linking up to food and agriculture jumpstart sector.
NanoMalaysia’s CEO, Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad said, “Besides aligning to the 12th Malaysia Plan’s renewed focus on exploiting biomass’ economic opportunities, BICEP was designed as a game changer for the country. BICEP leverages available local biomass to produce high-value nano-scale advanced materials tallying to numerous industrial applications in healthcare, cosmeceuticals, construction, electronics and even energy storage sectors. Hydrogen, the current national buzz, can be a by-product of our proprietary process thus supplementing our adjacent effort to drive the nation to be part of the fast growing global Hydrogen Economy. The activation of local value and supply chain effectively creates new business and employment opportunities with private investments in this space aligning to Sustainable Development Goals, and driving technology sovereignty over valuable raw and advanced materials production and commercialisation in Malaysia to meet growing needs to drive down the cost of relevant products manufactured in the country. The interaction of NanoMalaysia’s biomass focused investee company and industry players is crucial to build a sustainable ecosystem.”
BICEP will accelerate the development of a circular economy in Malaysia, considering the country’s status as the world’s second-largest palm oil producer and the largest contributor to the biomass industry. Annually, Malaysia produces approximately 168 million tons of biomass, including agricultural waste, forest residues, and municipal waste. Of this, over 80 million tonnes are generated by the palm oil industry.
Within the region, the biomass industry holds great potential as the Asia-Pacific biomass power market is evaluated to register a CAGR of 6.35% in terms of revenue and 6.22% in terms of volume during the forecast period of 2022 to 2030, capturing a revenue share of $51.78 billion by 2030.
