A small Brazilian native seed will revolutionize the biofuels market in the coming years. With high energy potential (production of up to 7 times more oil than soybeans), low consumption of water and inputs, Macauba is Acelen Renewables’ bet to produce more than 1 billion liters per year of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel (HVO), starting in 2026, with an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions throughout the production chain.
Presented to the world at COP28, Acelen Renewables is the renewable energy company of Mubadala Capital, a global asset management company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, created to actively participate in the global energy transition.
With an investment of 12 billion BRL, a positive impact on the economy of 85 billion BRL, the generation of 90,000 new jobs and the strengthening of family farming, the project foresees the cultivation of Macauba on 200,000 hectares of degraded land in Brazil, more specifically in the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais.
“We are going to produce the fuel of the future in Brazil, in a “fully sustainable” project: economically, socially and environmentally. I am very happy to be able to say that Acelen Renewables has a project with the potential to lead the global energy transition”, says Luiz de Mendonça, CEO of the company.
To produce high-quality seeds and seedlings, Acelen Renewables will set up an Agroindustrial Innovation and Technology Center (CITA) in Minas Gerais. The refining will be carried out at the biorefinery to be built in Bahia, where an innovation hub will also be implemented.
Strategic partnerships mark the Acelen Renewables project. “We work in an integrative way, leading and opening new paths to bring a sustainable and viable energy alternative to the world. To this end, we are setting up an ecosystem with agricultural solutions made up of research institutions, universities, national and international innovation hubs, which will contribute to the development of agribusiness,” says Marcelo Cordaro, the company’s COO.
This pioneering project will consolidate Acelen Renewables as one of the world’s leading biofuel producers, leading the energy transition and generating relevant economic, social and environmental impact.
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Featured Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash.