Boracay E-Trikes to Get Fuel from Waste Cooking Oil

An electric tricycle charging station that can convert waste cooking oil into fuel is now operating in the Philippines’ popular tourist destination, Boracay Island, with support from the Japanese government, reports the Philippine Daily Inquirer on December 05.  The project, located in Barangay Yapakin, Malay town in Aklan, is backed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in partnership with Japanese firm Kanazawa Engineering Systems, Inc. (KES).

KES developed the facility, dubbed “Renergy Project,” building up from a pilot project that was done in 2018 with the design of recycling waste cooking oil as a substitute for diesel used in power generation sets. “This new charging station can be a breakthrough to address the current environmental challenges in Boracay Island,” JICA’s chief representative Takema Sakamoto said in a statement, adding that the island can become a model and frontrunner for the entire Philippines to showcase as an environmentally modernized area.  Before this project, only a few electric tricycles could make a trip to Puka Shell Beach in the northern part of the island, which is one of Boracay’s popular beaches, because the distance run depletes the battery.  

About 30,000 liters of waste cooking oil is generated every month in Boracay based on estimates.  The Renergy system provides local establishments a way to re-use their waste cooking oil and avoid pollution of the island’s waterways. According to JICA, KES’ Renergy System can run round the clock even during a blackout or natural disaster.  The project is part of JICA’s Partnership with the Private Sector Scheme.