Nymet Holdings Inc. (fka NYMH)

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A newspaper article on the Jatropha Curcas study and Perihelion Global:

http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/articles/2007/12/25/news/news02.txt


Perihelion partners with Clemson

By Stephanie Nelson
Perihelion Global, the bio-diesel refinery under construction in Opp. has announced that the company has entered into a Joint Study Agreement with Planet Earth Engineering, LLP and Clemson University for biofuel research.

The purpose of the agreement is to pursue the production of a cost effective biofuel feed stock that will meet the supply demands for low-cost alternative fuel without impacting widely consumed food crops.

"We have seen some of the impacts of using food crops for fuels in Mexico, where harvesting of corn for ethanol created skyrocketing prices for such staple items as tortillas," said John Beebe, president and CEO of Perihelion Global. "This had a profoundly negative impact on their citizens. We think it's important that our Opp, bio-diesel plant will use multiple feedstocks which include non-food-grade peanuts, and we will continue to seek additional ways to provide energy innovations without sacrificing our critical food supply."

"We believe the research being conducted on Jatropha through this study agreement will advance our understanding and utilization of this potentially industry-changing fuel source."

The study will revolve around the use of Jatropha Curcas, a plant native to Central America, which has become a popular crop in countries like India seeking to capitalize on the growing biofeul industry. Jatropha appears to be a boon in less developed countries because of its ability to thrive in marginal situations and its ease of cultivation. The plant is in fact has been considered a weed with few uses other than in folk remedies where it earned the nickname "physic nut."

"The joint study agreement is huge," he said. "We are the only ones permitted by the

USDA to conduct this research with Clemson on using Jatropha for a bio fuel feedstock.

"It offers possibilities because it can grow almost anywhere, in wastelands and even in gravelly, sandy and saline soils," he said. "It can thrive on the poorest soil and grow in the crevices of rocks, and tolerates a wide range of climate."

Another sign of the growing trend toward alternatives to fossil fuel was the British Petroleum announcement in July that it planned to invest $32 million pounds in developing Jotropha as a fuel source.

However, there are questions to be answered about cultivating the plant on a commercial basis. The sap of the Jotropha is a skin irritant, and ingesting three untreated seeds can kill a person. There are also concerns that the yield of the crop may be unstable since it has not been fully domesticated.

Technology Review, published by MIT claimed last year that Jatropha yields more than four times as much fuel per hectare as soybeans, and more than ten times as much fuel as corn grown on the same amount of land.

Studies like those being conducted by Daimler Chrylser, BP and now Clemson University in partnership with Perihelion Global may soon provide the answers need to drive the development of alternative energy sources in the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly manner possible.

"In order to ensure our company's long term success, we have to be proactive in anticipating the future trends relating to the availability of cost effective biofuel feedstock," he said. "As a company, we have to plan and prepare for occurrences of drought, acts of God or other environmental and economic factors that can affect the availability of our feed stock and we believe our partnership with Planet Earth Engineering and Clemson University can help ensure our company's future feed stock supply needs and that Jatropha has great potential for the industry."