Tseai Energy Unlimited says its team is traveling to Sierra Leone to lay the foundation for its first pilot program.

TEU installs small-scale agricultural processing plants that take full advantage of abundant local crops, employ local farmers and make commercial products in underdeveloped communities. The company adds biomass digesters to the plants, which convert leftover agricultural waste into biogas. That biogas is then used to produce electricity for locally built schools.

The College Park, Md.-based company, founded in 2009 by Trevor Young, a student in the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute's Hillman Entrepreneurs Program, plans to launch its first plant in the town of Mile 18 in Sierra Leone. The plant will process palm fruit, which is abundant in the region, into palm oil. Waste generated while making the palm oil is converted into biogas, which generates electricity.

"In cooperation with stakeholders here and in Sierra Leone, this is an opportunity to bring jobs, electricity, a good school and a medical clinic to a community that needs it," says Young, CEO of TEU. "Our goal is to acquire land parcels, as well as meet with developers, partners, farmers and government officials."

Tags: Tseai Energy Unlimited