Redefining Cane Waste as We Know It

For Simon Yim, SKY Renewables is much more than a passion project. It’s a mission.

Make no mistake—there’s plenty of passion involved. But for Simon, it’s not just about personal fulfilment; it’s about building something meaningful and, in turn, transforming the lives of cane farmers across Australia.

After growing up in Hong Kong, Simon studied in Canada and the UK, qualifying as a solicitor in the late 1980s. Over the next three decades, he held senior roles across Asia in law, corporate strategy, and private equity, working on major infrastructure projects and leading mergers and acquisitions for global firms like industrial giant General Electric.

Turning Waste into Wealth

But after more than 30 years of delivering results for some of the world’s leading corporations, Simon felt it was time to build something of his own.

With that, in 2018, SKY Renewables was born.

“I spent a couple of years looking around, trying to figure out the best sector and region to focus (my start-up) on—then I stumbled into the Burdekin,” says Yim. “I was introduced by a friend who said, ‘these guys are burning their cane waste’. Coming from Asia, I knew there had to be value in it—that’s how it all started.”

SKY Renewables—the brainchild of Yim's extensive research—represents a true trailblazer in renewable energy. Its flagship initiative, Project Lion, aims to commodify sugar cane waste that would otherwise be burned by transforming it into renewable gas and exporting it to energy-hungry markets across Asia.

“On one side, you have places burning waste they think is useless. On the other side, you have countries like Japan and Singapore crying out for clean, renewable energy,” says Yim.

Yim identified the Burdekin region as the perfect launchpad for his world-first project.

“The Burdekin made the most sense,” he says. “Once we can prove it works [in the Burdekin], there's no reason it can't work in other cane regions like Mackay and Cairns and Bundaberg.”

Simon knows that, like all pioneering endeavours, the path is challenging and far from clear-cut—but that hasn’t deterred him or his team of 10 dedicated experts in their pursuit of an unprecedented breakthrough that could forever transform Queensland’s farming industry.

“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” says Yim.

“You’ve got to spend the time and diligence on day one to figure out if this is worth doing. If you decide it is, you just keep doing it.”

“There are distractions and discouragements—If it were easy, others would have done it. But, if we are successful, we’ll be the first in the world to do it."

With the recent backing of more than 70 per cent of Burdekin growers at a town hall meeting in May this year, SKY Renewables is building a formidable force, powering straight toward an untapped gold mine for Australian cane farmers.

The only missing piece of the puzzle is the opportunity to prove the potential.

“All we’re asking is to give us a chance. We’re not tyre-kickers. We’ve invested nearly $5 million of our own money and plenty of sweat equity. We’ve put in the time—seven years of work. So to growers, our government, and investors—give us a chance.”

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Glenn Betteridge, Incoming CBL Chair & Simon Yim, CEO of Sky Renewables. Photo supplied

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