KYOTOenergy Secures First Ever Carbon Trading Contract in Singapore



Agreement signed between ecoWise Holdings of Singapore and Kansai Electric Power Company of Japan

Press clippings

Singapore, 5 November, 2007 – KYOTOenergy Pte Ltd, the Singapore based independent emission reduction project developer, today announced the first carbon trading deal ever signed in Singapore.

KYOTOenergy has collaborated with Sesdaq-listed ecoWise Holdings Limited – a Singapore-based integrated environmental solutions provider – to originate and manage its carbon assets generated from a project under registration with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

CDM, a flexible carbon trading mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), offers the possibility to the industry of developing countries to implement projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and earn carbon credits.  These are tradeable with industrialised countries who must achieve their binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Projects are eligible provided they assist the host country to achieve sustainable development and are "additional" (i.e. would have not occurred in the absence of CDM).

The transaction was formalised today with an Emission Reduction Purchasing Agreement (ERPA) signed by ecoWise and Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc, the second largest utility company in Japan

Under the transaction, Kansai will take delivery of up to 95,000 carbon credits generated from ecoWise’s CDM project which involves the drying of waste by using thermal energy that was previously wasted at its cogeneration plant. The centralized dryer will receive waste from the agro-industry who are currently using fossil fuels to dry their waste. The switch from several independent fossil fuel dryers to a centralised renewable energy dryer will result in a saving of 6.1 million litres of diesel oil every year.

The deal allows ecoWise to monetise its carbon assets to overcome the market and financial barriers while contributing to Kansai’s voluntary efforts to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions.

“This is the first ERPA negotiated in Singapore. Being the first is often risky, especially in the CDM sphere, but being a Singaporean company ourselves, we had to take the challenge.” said Michel Buron, Chief Executive Officer and founder of KYOTOenergy. “As a carbon asset manager, we collaborate with companies to originate, develop, generate and optimise their carbon assets by providing advisory services, project development skills and if required, by adopting a long term position via equity participation in the project.

“While Singapore is still far behind in terms of the amount of CDM projects than India or China, this first successfully transacted contract will pave the way for other companies to not only develop projects at home but also to use Singapore as a platform to tap into the regional market. As the industry base in Singapore is rather limited, CDM opportunities will be limited too. However, Singapore is ideally positioned to become a regional hub for Carbon Asset Managers to access the regional market. Indeed, easy access to highly qualified people and finance are key ingredients to success” he added.

KYOTOenergy also revealed initiatives to spin-off a world-class carbon advisory firm and develop its project pipeline in order to generate yearly 2 million emission reductions by 2010. 

“We are also eyeing investment opportunities in the hydropower and biogas sectors to supply electricity in South East Asia, Europe and Latin America.  This will secure our income base for the next decade. In the past eighteen months, we have secured Carbon Asset Management agreements for more than forty (40) projects, representing fifty (50) million emission reductions over the next twenty (20) years.”

“KYOTOenergy focuses exclusively on “quality CDM projects”.  These are projects with strong fundamentals that contribute to sustainable economic development and benefit local communities, the environment and contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.  We pay a lot of attention to get it right from the beginning!” he further added.


CEO and Founder, KYOTOenergy Pte Ltd

Ir. Michel Buron, CEO and Founder of KYOTOenergy, holds a merit in Master's of Science and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious University of Leuven in Belgium.

He has worked in the Asian region for more than 12 years, with his first assignment in Singapore and Thailand where he was managed the operation of a large European technology based company specialising in environmental projects.  During this period, Michel rapidly gained knowledge and accumulated successes in the region in the wastewater and waste to energy fields.

In 2002, he founded KYOTOenergy Pte Ltd in Singapore.  Having established the consultancy services relating to the environment and renewable energy, Michel then brought the company into the selected arena of emission reductions project developer.

Besides being an entrepreneur, Michel is a forward thinker, near perfectionist and continuously exploring new territories. He is also a sought after speaker and writer.  He has written numerous articles on CDM, climate change and environmental issues.

About KYOTOenergy Pte Ltd

KYOTOenergy is an independent emission reduction project developer providing integrated solutions to the industry in order to develop their carbon assets.

KYOTOenergy’s mission on the supply side consists of identifying, originating and trading emission reductions. On the demand side, KYOTOenergy provides advisory services and sell carbon credits to clients in order to offset and achieve mandatory or voluntary objectives.

The company was founded in 2002 in Singapore and is now majority owned by the Malaysian listed company, SMIS Corporation Berhad.

Today, KYOTOenergy adopts a long term position in projects via equity participation and carbon asset management, while its world-class carbon advisory services create value for its clients at every stage of project development.

KYOTOenergy is active in South East Asia, Europe and Latin America with a project pipeline of more than 40 projects at various stages of development across a range of technologies: fuel switch, hydroelectric power, energy efficiency, cogeneration and the composting of agricultural waste.

About the Clean Development Mechanism

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a market-based flexible mechanism created under the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialised countries to meet their carbon emissions targets through trading of emission allowances generated by projects based in developing countries.

With the CDM, projects undertaken in various countries to reduce greenhouse gases have the potential to earn carbon credits. Such credits can then be traded with a buyer, thus providing an additional revenue stream to finance the project.

The CDM opens new opportunities to develop projects that would not be (as) viable without the carbon credits, and has the potential to:
• improve local waste management practices (eg disposal of waste through composting or combustion, landfill gas recovery)
• support the use of renewable energy (e.g. production of heat/electricity from biomass, biogas, solar, wind)
• encourage energy efficiency initiatives (cogeneration, efficient chillers, energy saving lamps, heat recovery)

About Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. is an electric utility with its operational area in the Kansai region including the Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto megalopolis. The company is regarded as one of the leading companies in Kansai, as well as the leader in the electric power industry of Japan.

About ecoWise Holdings Limited

Founded in 1979 and listed on SGX-SESDAQ in 2003, the ecoWise Group is a Singapore based integrated environmental solutions provider. ecoWise’s strategy is focused on four key businesses – renewable energy, recovery of industrial materials, recycling of organic materials and provision of integrated environmental management solutions.

The biomass cogeneration plant at Sungei Kadut uses tree prunings and waste wood such as discarded wood pallets for fuel. The biomass plant can simultaneously generate two forms of useful energy – electricity and heat – from a single energy source. This green energy reduces use of non renewal fossil fuels and also reduces the costs of operations. The biomass plant also provides critical hands on training and practical solutions in developing and using sustainable energy.

ecoWise also operates a composting facility at Sarimbun Recycling Park. This facility can produce pathogens and contaminant-free organic compost in 14 days using the company's proprietary in-vessel technology. ecoWise is a member of Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS), Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and Singapore Water Association (SWA).


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