Green Energy

Mantle Group and Rod Miller are 50/50 owners of Evergreen Fuels Pty Ltd. Rod Miller is Managing Director.

Evergreen Fuels has developed a low cost Transesterification process to convert crude vegetable oil to Australian Biodiesel Standards. The process was developed collaboratively by Dr Michelle Lihou, Mike Yesberg and Rod Miller. Evergreen Fuels retains the intellectual property rights over this process. Evergreen has demonstrated the viability of this process with the operation of a substantial and commercial refinery.

We have carefully researched the potential of Pongamia Pinnata trees to provide a high yield source of non-edible oil suitable for refining into biodiesel. This has involved several years of field trials and plant selection.

Evergreen has a registered long term lease over 20,000 hectares of land in the Lockhart River area of North Queensland. Rod Miller works in close partnership with the traditional owners of the land the Mangkuma Land Trust and he and his team are currently planting Pongamia Pinnata trees on 10,000 hectares of the land.

Evergreen is the largest local employer and workforce trainer. The workforce is drawn entirely from the local Aboriginal people.

By 2016 the Pongamia Pinnata trees on Evergreen plantations at Lockhart will conservatively produce approximately 40 million litres of Australian specification high grade biodiesel.

With current additions of land Evergreen is on track to plant a targeted total of 20,000 hectares of Pongamia Pinnata trees which will conservatively produce in excess of 80 million litres of high grade diesel.

This will provide part of the energy needs of the far north east of Australia with a sustainable green alternative fuel source and provide employment for the local indigenous community.
It will also avoid the need for costly long haulage of diesel to supply the mines, generators and transport rigs of this remote area.