Briquetting machines for industrial and small-hold purposes

Biomass briquettes as an alternative to wood and oil

Deforestation is a major problem in Africa. Therefore, it is necessary to find an alternative to wood, which is the primary raw material for firewood. In addition, oil is a major source of energy in African industry. Replacing oil and wood with biomass briquettes is both an economic advantage and saves on resources.

The Danish briquette machine manufacturer C.F. Nielsen aims at selling their machines on the emerging markets in Africa. The advanced briquetting technique has a huge potential for both large industries and small-scale cooking.

Biodegradable material such as waste form agricultural production, sawdust and discarded straw and leaves make out the raw material needed to produce briquettes for burning.

The Danish company C.F. Nielsen has more than 70 years of experience in producing and refining machines that can press the material into briquettes with a high burning value.

C.F. Nielsen’s key business is production of high-level briquetting machines for industrial purposes, but with support from Access2innovation, the company is now doing market research in order to develop a smaller scale version of the machine for domestic or village use.

 “We believe that there is an enormous potential market for our products in Africa,” says CEO Mogens Slot Knudsen. “Both for industrial units, but also on a smaller level if we can find the right business model with the right size of our press. It is very, very interesting.”

In order to adapt to the African market, C.F. Nielsen has set up an engineering unit to help set up turn-key installations in Africa.