about our Pongamia tree
During its lifetime, the tree absorbs way more CO₂ than it produces during the planting, growing, harvesting and crushing of the pods for our renewable green fuel. That is why we fell in love with the Pongamia tree.
Corekees signed an offtake-agreement for all pods from the trees. This way, we can guarantee that all pods produced by the trees will be sold for a set price.
The tree reaches maturity when it is about 7 years old. From that moment on, the tree produces a stable amount of pods each year.
The gross return (interest + repayment) is 256% after 20 years. The average expected profit per tree is €1,56 per year.
Benefits of the Pongamia tree
Reforestation
Bare terrains are restored into natural reserves for cattle, our Pongamia tree and native vegetation.
CO₂ Neutral
Our tree is known for its ability to filter large amounts of CO₂ from the air. Each tree compensates about 44 kilograms of CO₂ each year.
Biofuel
The natural oil crushed from the Pongamia pods are uses worldwide in the production of biofuel or ‘HVO’.
Cattle Feed and Grazing
The protein feed from the leftovers of the crushing are suitable for both animal (cattle) as human consumption. Each tree produces over 15 kilograms a year.
Local farmers put to work
The Pongamia tree has more benefits than only the natural restoration. Mature trees offer protection to the cattle that walk among the trees. This way, local farmers can let their cattle graze on our fields. The maintenance of the trees and cattle create new jobs for the locals.
Our area in Paraguay
The reforestation areas our partner uses are over 700 hectares and is located at the riverside of the ‘Rio Paraguay’ in Alto Paraguay. This is the river that borders Paraguay and Brazil. In the area, many lands are suitable for our trees.