On 11 and 12 December 2013, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology – Vietnam National University, HCM organized the 4^th meeting of Joint Coordinating Committee JCC (JCC) of Vietnamese – Japanese technical cooperation project “Sustainable Integration of Local Agriculture and Biomass Industry”. The Project focusing on producing highly quality bioethanol and biogas   from straw, husk and other agricultural wastes has obtained a lot of achievements for 4 years of implementation.

    In the 4^th JCC meeting, there were 6 scientific reports focusing on Vietnamese policy towards the project, research activities of Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo (Japan) and international relations for mutual development in the project. Prof. Vu Dinh Thanh – The Rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology highly appreciated the partnership and achievements obtained in the project. “This JICA-JST project is one of key international project fostering research activities at the University. As the Rector of the core organization in the project, I believe the concept of biomass town will be successfully constructed and recognized by the community”           

  “Biomass town can come true, contributing to reducing the emission of greenhouse gas as well as protecting environment if the price of fuels is comparable to first-generation fossil fuels or biofuels. This requires continuous efforts of researchers, concerned authorities not only in the framework of the project but also in the post-project period. Extending partnership with domestic and international organizations is essential to solve the puzzle of bioenergy in Vietnam and in the world”, Prof. Phan Dinh Tuan said.

   “Integration of local agriculture and biomass industry” is a governmental project in which Japanese government support Vietnam to solve global issues. The project has implemented since 2009 including Japanese and Vietnamese research institutions. Japanese side is represented by Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo. Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology is the representative organization of Vietnamese side. The important objective of the project is to develop key technology to produce biofuels meeting the need for environmental protection with reasonable price. Two primary products of the project include bio-ethanol produced from cellulose based materials such as straw, husk  and clean biogas.

Photos taken at the event;