The Inter-American Development Bank today approved a US$830,000 grant for expanding innovation, science and technology in bioenergy in Colombia.
The grant includes US$500,000 from the Knowledge Partnership Korea Fund for Technology and Innovation and US$330,000 from the IDB’s Fund for Sustainable Energy and Climate Change (SECCI).
The main objective of this grant is to promote new technological development and transfer of technology in the area of biofuels. The expected outcome is to provide a solution to some of the main technological bottlenecks in the production chain of biofuels as well as to increase the capacity building and training at managerial and technical levels in the area of biofuels.
“Only through the appropriate application and creation of knowledge will Colombia be able to strengthen the production chain of biofuels and transform the country from a biofuel producer to a world biofuel leader,” said IDB project team leader, Christiaan Gischler. “This initiative is part of the support that the Bank is providing to the Government of Colombia to promote the sustainable production of biofuels in the areas of planning, financing and research & development of bioenergy.”
This grant will finance the design of a Research, Development and Innovation Fund for Biofuels (FIDIB, acronym in Spanish) with the objectives of identifying the most important areas of research and innovation in the biofuels production chain, designing and implementing pilot projects for the FIDIB, and promoting technological transfers and capacity building within the production chain of biofuels.
This initiative will allow universities, research centers, and bioenergy developers to join forces and apply to the FIDIB for funding to provide solution to the main technological barriers of biofuel production.
This operation will be executed by the Colombian Institute for the Development of Science and Technology (COLCIENCIAS, acronym in Spanish).