China's growing demand for energy, the high and volatile oil price and growing awareness of curbing carbon emissions have promoted domestic energy security and sustainable development to the top of government's political agenda. As well as other alternative and renewable energies, synfuel, which refers to any liquid fuel obtained from coal, natural gas, or biomass, is also set to boom as a strategic option to mitigate the structural unbalance of China's energy sector and also as a commitment on emissions reductions

Natural gas, due to China's lack of reserves and growing supply for civil use, is still remained off the discussion table regarding synfuels whereas coal-derived fuels and biofuels are both moving forward in a very fast pace and they are both expected to play more important roles in China's energy mix.

Apart from the soaring oil price and energy hungry economy, sufficient coal resource could be another conspicuous incentive for China's development of coal-derived fuels mainly including CTL, Methanol and DME. Many industry leaders such as Sasol, Shell, Dow Chemical, Anglo American, and GE have already started their actions in the domain. China's biofuels history began with the introduction of ethanol as car fuel, which is a project supported by central government resulting from the overproduction of grain. Although feedstock is still a big headache and the market is still exclusive to domestic players, many foreign companies are desperately drooling over this market. Biodiesel is also an eye-catching word for investors and the market wants more support from government. But in spite of the unprecedented investment boom and new players keeping entering the market, none of the five sectors (CTL, Methanol, DME, Bioethanol and Biodiesel) has quite clear and determined development plans and policies. This rudimentary and unstable market status quo has inevitably caused massive debates on this industry. So finding the right formula to assure the sustainable and healthy development of China's synfuels industry will strictly test the wisdom of the planners and regulators. Besides government’s plans, market factors will be another essential determinant of the future landscape. They should work together striving for the security and sustainability of China's energy industry

It goes without saying that this endeavor will be a long journey, but China's already on the verge of departure. China Decision Makers Consultancy (CDMC) will be privileged to embark upon this journey together with every player in this industry. We are committed to establishing a platform to demonstrate the status quo of China's synfuels industry to keep you abreast of the latest developments and to help you forecast how this industry will evolve in the near future.

Based on this commitment, CDMC is proud to present the elite gathering China Synfuels Summit 2007 on Dec 6th & 7th, at Swiss?tel Hotel in Beijing, China. 

(Source: www.chinasynfuels.com)