African biodiesel-plant plan wins students business contest
Posted on Monday, April 21, 2008
BENTONVILLE — Three students from the University of Michigan left Bentonville on Friday with a $ 20, 000 check for their school and a determination to pursue plans to build a biodiesel plant in Mozambique supplied with raw materials from local farmers.
The trio beat teams from seven other colleges and universities in the first Wal-Mart Better Living Business Plan Challenge Competition. Results of the competition were released today.
The contest challenged the teams to draft and present viable business plans that also help conserve energy and preserve the environment.
Wal-Mart outlined several environmental initiatives nearly three years ago, and H. Lee Scott, president and chief executive officer, added more in January at the company’s annual Kansas City, Mo., meeting. Those included making the most energy-intensive products 25 percent more efficient within three years; reducing energy usage in flat-screen televisions 30 percent by 2010; and doubling the sales of products such as weatherstripping that make homes more energy-efficient.
“For those of you from outside Wal-Mart, you would not realize how far we have come that we would have hosted this event,” Scott told those gathered in the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. home office’s auditorium at the conclusion of Friday’s competition. “We’ve made tremendous progress,” he said.
MOZAMBIQUE-BOUND The Michigan team’s plan proposed a refinery and complex of farms in Mozambique to make biodiesel from the seeds of Jatropha plants.
Next up is a trip back to Mozambique, where they’ve already spent some time, to “really kick the tires on this business plan,” said student Tony Gross, whose partners were Jeffrey LeBrun and Ali Moazed.
They’ve already lined up travel and living expenses through their school and related institutes.
Kim Saylors-Laster, Wal-Mart’s vice president for energy, said the quality of the presentations was top-notch.
“They had solid plans that were good for business and good for the environment, and had really thought through the strengths and weaknesses of their plans,” said Saylors-Laster, who supervised the competition.
Student teams presented their plans to panels of judges first at the Embassy Suites hotel in Rogers, where the field was narrowed to two: Michigan and Stanford universities.
The University of Arkansas team’s proposal, a new product that would extend by three times to eight times the life of batteries used to power cell phones, laptop computers, digital music players and other devices, didn’t make the finals, which were judged at the Wal-Mart headquarters.
The Michigan team said the effort would connect impoverished African farmers with the growing biodiesel market as demand for renewable fuels increases worldwide. Another plus, the team said, is that Jatropha grows on marginal land, which would free up better farmland for soybeans and other food crops and slow the conversion of rain forest to cropland. A common criticism of existing biodiesel production — and the government subsidies that support it — is that food prices are rising as a result.
The team proposes to work with BHP Billiton, a global natural resources firm, to refine the Jatropha into biodiesel.
Land is available for lease from the government at $ 10 per hectare (2. 471 acres ), the team said. It hopes to secure $ 1 million in seed money by this fall and expects to break even on the startup in six years.
Their proposal also would fit into Wal-Mart’s long-term goal of being 100 percent supplied by renewable energy sources.
“We think we are uniquely positioned to meet this challenge for Wal-Mart and the world,” team member LeBrun said. MAKING BETTER BATTERIES The Arkansas team’s plan drew on technology developed under the Strategic Defense Initiative — otherwise known as Star Wars — that former President Reagan launched to protect the United States from nuclear missile attacks.
The three-man team estimated that use of the battery extender would save consumers $ 500 million a year and keep 60 million pounds of batteries a year out of landfills.
“This is real technology that exists. It’s proven; it’s out there,” said student Stan Zylowski, designated the marketing officer for the team.
Apogee Power Inc. of Campbell, Calif., holds the patent on the technology but is focusing its efforts on industrial, medical and fuel cell applications, the team said.
Team member April Seggebruch said that their proposed company likely would market initially to smaller players in the cell phone business, such as LG and Sony Ericsson, to establish the market and that larger players such as Nokia would follow.
Their plan anticipated selling the device for 30 cents to $ 1. 20 apiece. It also anticipated ultimately selling the business back to Apogee in five years, once the market for the product was established.
The competition was co-sponsored by the Applied Sustainability Center at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, part of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Wal-Mart selected the schools that were invited to compete.
Judges for the final round of competition, all from Wal-Mart, were Scott; Ann Bordelon, chief audit executive; John Fleming, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for the Wal-Mart stores division; Gregory Spragg, executive vice president of merchandising and replenishment for Sam’s Club; and Eric Zorn, executive vice president for Wal-Mart Real Estate Co. Judges for the preliminary round included executives of Wal-Mart; the Environmental Defense Fund; the Washingtonbased energy and environmental consulting firm Green Strategies Inc.; BP Solar, a division of the London-based energy firm BP plc; and Fox Home Entertainment.
To contact this reporter: spainter@arkansasonline. com
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