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Acelen Announces Billion-Dollar Investment in Biorefinery and Promises to Make Brazil One of the World Powers in Sustainable Fuels, Besides Creating Thousands of Jobs.
Biorefinery in Bahia: The search for alternatives to fossil fuels to reduce emissions of polluting gases is a global obsession. And Brazilian agribusiness, in synergy with the biorefinery industry, seems to have found a viable solution for the production of vegetable oils that will be the raw material for the production of renewable diesel fuel and sustainable aviation fuel. Now, Acelen will make a billion-dollar investment and create thousands of jobs in the sector.
Check Out the Details of Acelen’s Investment in Biorefinery in Bahia
It is in the macaúba, a native plant of the cerrado, that Acelen is placing its bets, making a US$ 3 million investment in a biorefinery in Bahia to produce 1 billion liters and plans to invest in up to five hubs for the development of the crop throughout Brazil, with the construction of other biorefineries, generating thousands of jobs.
In an interview, Luiz Mendonça, CEO of Acelen, stated that the project is the company’s priority, which was created in 2021 when Mubadala, the sovereign fund of the United Arab Emirates, purchased the Mataripe refinery from Petrobras. Now, the state-owned company is negotiating the repurchase of the asset. The industrial plant, which completed 74 years on September 17, received R$ 600 million in investments.
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The executive did not comment on the ongoing negotiation between the two parties. However, he believes that Brazil is the country with the most opportunities for a biorefinery. He emphasizes that this dynamism of the country has always been present and is part of it. Sometimes it is unfavorable, as it reduces an investor’s ability to forecast, but it brings opportunities. Mubadala did not just exaggerate about the refinery, but saw in Brazil a huge potential in the energy sector.
Check Out the Division of Investment in Biorefineries
Mendonça points out that he has always been prompted by Mubadala about how to diversify fuel production in the country. Refining fuels will still be important for decades, ensuring energy security. On the other hand, we envision the possibility of building an additional biorefining unit.
The company’s plans foresee an investment of US$ 3 billion, of which US$ 1 billion will go to the construction of the fuel factory and another US$ 2 billion for the development of the macaúba crop, on 180,000 hectares of degraded pastures in Minas Gerais and Bahia.
The company should complete the engineering project for the biorefinery by the end of this year, start construction in early 2025, and finish the project in 2027, generating thousands of jobs.
To develop the cultivation of the native Brazilian plant of high energy value, the company has started an investment of R$ 250 million in research and innovation, which envisions the construction of the Acelen Agripark, a technological center in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. There, pilot planting, management, energy research projects, and industrial improvement for crushing the macaúba to transform it into vegetable oil will be developed.
About the Mataripe Refinery
With the investments from Acelen, the Mataripe refinery has increased its daily production capacity, which went from 207,000 barrels in 2021 to 250,000 barrels currently. As a result, diesel production increased by 33% and aviation kerosene by another 181%.
Additionally, from December 2021 to August 2024, the company reduced the total water consumption of the refinery, saving 4.7 billion liters, equivalent to the volume used in a city of 109,000 inhabitants. The executive highlights that if all refineries in Brazil did this, it would not be necessary to import diesel.
During the same period, there was a 9% reduction in energy consumption, equivalent to the residential electricity consumption of the entire state of Roraima. Polluting gas emissions were also reduced by 46% and sulfur emissions by 87%, as well as generating 30% less waste in 2023, a reduction of 7,000 tons.
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