2023-04-15 17:10:13
© Reuters.
By Marta Nogueira
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Acelen, from the Mubadala Capital fund, plans to invest 12 billion reais over ten years for the production of renewable diesel and aviation kerosene in Bahia, starting in 2026, in a step that will place the company as a one of the world leaders in this segment, executives told Reuters.
The new biorefinery, whose works should start in January 2024, next to the Acelen Mataripe refinery, in São Francisco do Conde (BA), will have the capacity to produce 1 billion liters per year of fuel (or 20 thousand barrels/ day) from the hydrotreatment of vegetable oils and animal fat.
Renewable or green diesel, also known as HVO (acronym in English for the production process), is different from traditional biofuels such as biodiesel, as it can replace 100% of the fossil product, although it also uses raw materials such as . The same goes for green aviation kerosene, called SAF.
Due to the size of the project, the company could be, at first, the largest consumer of oil in Brazil, capturing the equivalent of 10% of current domestic consumption in Brazil, the largest global producer of the oilseed.
“We become an attractive player for a soybean oil producer, so we are being very well received, and this type of contract also involves future investments”, stated the Vice President of New Business at Acelen, Marcelo Cordaro.
On Saturday, Acelen signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Bahia, in Abu Dhabi, on the investment plan. The project will include several work fronts, such as studies for the production of raw materials and initiatives to integrate family farming, in addition to logistical, environmental and tax issues, among others.
The final investment decision should be taken in December this year.
“It will be as if it were a refinery unit, in Mataripe, to explore synergies”, pointed out Cordaro, detailing that the biorefinery will use all the existing infrastructure of utilities, tanking and logistics, including the port terminal, for the export of new fuels .
The Mataripe refinery, formerly Rlam, was sold by Petrobras (BVMF:) at the end of 2021. Under the administration of Mubadala, investments of more than 1 billion reais have already been announced for the unit, which today accounts for 14% of capacity of oil refining in Brazil.
Initially, Acelen foresees that all of its renewable fuel production will be exported, since there is still no regulation in the Brazilian market that makes the internal commercialization of HVO or SAF feasible, while external markets can guarantee better prices.
“We want to be a global player, we are starting to be big, we already have the competitiveness to operate abroad”, stated Acelen’s vice-president of Institutional Relations, Communication and ESG, Marcelo Lyra.
“Obviously, the Brazilian market is developing and starting to encourage this type of fuel, so logically for us it would be interesting to participate.”
RAW MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
Initially, soy oil will be the project’s main raw material, which, due to its size, could make Acelen the largest individual consumer of the commodity in Brazil, with the use of up to 900,000 tons of soy oil per year. There should also initially be an additional annual consumption of 100,000 to 150,000 tons of oil and animal fat.
Subsequently, the company plans to gradually replace the consumption of soy oil with macaúba and palm oil, with planting forecasted to start in 2025. For this, Acelen will invest in genetics, improvement of agricultural productivity and selection of suitable areas.
Macaúba is a tree native to Brazil with high energy potential, according to the executives, and not yet explored on a commercial scale.
“With macaúba you have five to seven times greater productivity per hectare (compared to soybeans)”, stated Cordaro.
The project foresees planting in a total area of 200 thousand hectares, spread between Minas Gerais and Bahia, prioritizing degraded lands.
There was no definition whether the company could also have its own planting, in addition to buying from third parties.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Of the total amount of planned investments, up to 2.5 billion reais should be invested in research and innovation, from the seed to the production plant.
The company plans to create an industrial-scale seed germination laboratory, investing in research with a range of public and private institutions inside and outside Brazil, they said.
The executives highlighted that a study by the Getulio Vargas Foundation pointed out that the project should move 85 billion reais in the Brazilian economy by 2035, directly and indirectly, with a consequent increase in tax contributions throughout the production chain.
In addition, more than 90,000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created, 70% of which will be permanent, with the operation of the Renewables Complex.
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