Vice-president of communications, Marcelo Lyra, states that the project is in the “final stage” of specification; complex will produce 1 billion liters of biofuel per year
A should announce in the coming weeks the start of work on a mega biorefinery that will have a production capacity of 1 billion liters per year. The operation of the complex will be focused on the production of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel, in Portuguese) and green diesel.
The new venture will be installed next to the Mataripe Refinery (BA), one of the main assets controlled by the company. Acelen intends to start the operational phase of the project in May or mid-June, which should be ready in 2 and a half years. The estimated budget is US$3 billion.
“We are in the final, very final stretch of engineering specifications, beginning of operations, beginning of construction. A few more weeks and we will announce the start of works, but we are at a very advanced stage”these vice president of ESG Communication and Institutional Relations at Acelen, during a conversation with journalists at in São Paulo.
When it reaches maximum capacity, the biorefinery is expected to produce 20,000 barrels of SAF per day. The focus will be on the foreign market, especially the United States and the European Union, says Lyra.
The company already has contracts for off-take ensured for the majority of the complex’s production. In this type of agreement, a buyer commits to purchasing part or all of a seller’s future production, usually before the project even gets off the ground.
According to Acelen’s deputy, the unit will be capable of producing biofuels from soybean oil, UCO (used cooking oil) and other types of oils of animal and vegetable origin.
One of the main fronts of the project is the sustainable planting program for 180 thousand hectares of macaúba in Bahia and Minas Gerais. The initiative has been underway since last year and includes incentive actions for small and medium-sized farmers. The company will use oil from the native plant to produce biofuels in more advanced stages of the project.
“He [óleo] It will be produced in agriculture on 100% of degraded land, in degraded pasture areas. They will all be degraded pastures, transformed into macaúba forests. I often say that they are bioenergy forests. And from there we harvest, crush the fruit, collect the oil, remove the oil and this oil will be processed there in Mataripe”says Lyra.
Marcelo Lyra spoke to journalists after participating in a panel at the Biodiesel and Biokerosene Forum
SAF, formerly called biokerosene, is a fuel made from renewable or low-carbon raw materials such as vegetable oils, agricultural waste, organic waste, ethanol or industrial gases, instead of petroleum, which is used in traditional jet fuel.
REGULATION
The biofuels sector awaits the of the decree that regulates the mandate of the SAF in Brazil. Lyra defended the implementation of a regulatory framework that allows the sector to develop.
“As we are very externally focused, this does not have much impact on our project specifically. But as we are going to be a player in this sector, it is important that regulation occurs to also bring in new players. So that we have a sector with the capacity to produce in Brazil in a competitive way and to interact with global regulators abroad in a relevant way as well”he declared.
