The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) approved financing of 257.9 million reais for an Acelen project focused on research and development of macaúba cultivation, aiming to use it in the future in the production of sustainable fuels.
The project by Acelen, a company from read Mubadala which operates the Mataripe refinery, plans to implement a technological innovation center, Acelen Agripark, in Montes Claros (MG). This unit is part of Acelen’s integrated project to build a biorefinery for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from macaúba.
The development bank says that this is its first financing aimed at the development of SAF, considered one of the “fuels of the future” and seen as essential for the decarbonization of the aviation sector.
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What is macaúba
Acelen’s innovation center will allow the development of new macaúba seedlings, which is a native Brazilian plant with high energy power, and the selection of masses with the greatest production potential. Furthermore, the company intends to adopt a technology that will select the best plants for seed production, cloning and genetic improvement.
“We were born with the purpose of actively participating in and accelerating the global energy transition, and now, we are investing heavily in agriculture,” stated the president of Acelen, Luiz de Mendonça, in a statement.
The company’s center in Minas will have a germination capacity of 1.7 million seeds per month and the production of 10.5 million plant seedlings per year.
The director of infrastructure, energy transition and climate change at BNDES, Luciana Costa, stated that initiatives like this strengthen the government’s intention to transform Brazil into a leader in the global energy transition.
“We support an ambitious project, with a lot of technology and with a strong social impact, which can economically transform a region and strengthen Brazil’s image as part of the world’s decarbonization solution,” he said.
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