Singapore, Cambodia tie up for hospital biofuel venture

Brought together by the internet, Alpha Biofuels and the Angkor Hospital for Children worked against tough odds to set up a biofuel facility in Cambodia. The Cambodian hospital had already set up their own biofuel company, but needed help with the process of making biodiesel. The Singaporean start-up, upon learning of the hospital’s good cause, said “yes”, marking an unexpected foray into social enterprise. The Angkor Hospital is one of only two pediatric hospitals in the Siem Reap region and treats 300,000 children yearly. As the hospital planned to boost its capacity to 1.5 million young patients a year and expand its services to include a surgery, it needed more energy to power everything from lights to machines. Like many buildings in Cambodia, it is not connected to the power grid and relies on a diesel generator for power. Alpha Biofuels constructed the biofuel production machine and footed the bill for shipping it to Cambodia, as well as training hospital staff on its use. The company also paid for their own travelling costs to Cambodia, but decided not to give away the machine, which cost Angkor Hospital SG$60,000 (US$40,090), for free, to give. (April 6, 2009)