In order to advance international cooperation and knowledge sharing on international standards for biofuels and clean cooking technologies, the Standards Alliance, a public-private partnership between the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), recently collaborated with Pivot Clean Energy Co. (Pivot) and Mozambique’s National Institute for Normalization and Standards (INNOQ) to co-host a two-day workshop on developing bioethanol economies in Maputo, Mozambique.
Discussions held on September 20- 22, 2023, included workshop presentations, a two-hour closed-door working session with key government and industry stakeholders, and an informal exchange amongst workshop participants during a site visit to Yazu, a local clean cooking technology company and bioethanol fuel distribution warehouse in Matola, Mozambique. The two-day workshop highlighted the importance of having a supportive policy environment, covering international standards and best practices for the nascent sector, as well as the trade implications and practical implementation challenges for developing the local biofuel economy. More than 30 people from both U.S. and Mozambican nonprofits and industry attended, including representatives from ASTM International, U.S. Grains Council, Growth Energy, Greenlight Africa, Green 66 Innovations Limited, and Tongaat Hulett, as well as government representatives from INNOQ, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among other attendees.
The event followed virtual capacity building workshops on the same topic in Togo, Mali, and The Gambia, and a five-part webinar series with the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO). These sessions, including the workshop in Maputo, provided practical knowledge on bioethanol fuels, and highlighted the critical need to address the lack of access to clean cooking solutions—an issue more than 4 billion people around the world face on a regular basis. This most recent event was an outcome of a third-round of funding granted to Pivot Clean Energy under Standards Alliance: Phase 2, to facilitate the adoption of relevant standards, including ASTM E3050, Standard Specification For Denatured Ethanol For Use As Cooking And Appliance Fuel, and ASTM D4806, Standard Specification For Denatured Fuel Ethanol For Blending With Gasolines For Use As Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel, and accelerate implementation of Mozambique’s recent investment incentive, which includes several supportive policies for bioethanol and agricultural expansion.
Read more about the critical need for clean cooking solutions.
Background on Pivot’s Work and the Standards Alliance Activity
Pivot is a nonprofit bioethanol coalition that was created to accelerate the transition to clean bioethanol for household energy globally. By joining collaboratively with other entities in the bioethanol industry and clean energy sectors, Pivot strives to improve market intelligence and communication around bioethanol, catalyze funding to support new or growing enterprise in developing countries, and strengthen supply infrastructure and policies to support affordable, safe solutions for consumers. As part of its mission in transitioning homes to bioethanol, Pivot works with interested stakeholders to develop policy and standards in this arena across multiple geographies.
About Standards Alliance: Phase 2
The Standards Alliance: Phase 2 involves collaboration with U.S. private sector partners, U.S. government experts, and USAID eligible countries and regions between 2019-2024. These regions include Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.
A key goal of Phase 2 is to help increase the capacity of developing countries to implement accepted international best practices to reduce instances of poor quality and unsafe products, services, and infrastructure. Project activities will help developing countries prevent and remove non-tariff barriers, and stimulate economic growth, while also preserving and expanding markets for U.S. businesses.
Related Article:
Standard Alliance Organizes Webinar on Bioethanol as a Clean Cooking Fuel
