BDT helps Brazilian jatropha biodiesel to turn commercial

Brazil’s first commercial
jatropha biodiesel project
will go into operation this
month following the
delivery of BioDiesel
Technologies’ (BDT)
processing unit.
BDT will deliver a further four
processing units to increase
the plant capacity to 40,000 t/y
by the end of the year. The
multi-feedstock technology
provided by BDT will also
allow the use of animal tallow
for the manufacture of
biodiesel.
Local cooperatives and
small farmers in the state of
Tocantins will supply the
biodiesel facility with the
required feedstock, working
with the project operator,
Compahnhia Productora de
Biodiesel de Tocantins. The
creation of 48,000 hectares of
jatropha plantation will
improve the local agricultural
community.
Brazil has introduced
mandatory blends of 2% by
2008 and 5% by 2013 as well
as numerous tax incentives for
biodiesel producers that
source their feedstock from
local communities.
Compahnhia Productora de
Biodiesel de Tocantins is
investigating potential sites for
two projects within the region,
taking total regional production
to over 120,000 tonnes of
biodiesel a year. !
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Spain1s Abengoa buys Dedini shares

Abengoa Bioenergy, a
subsidiary of diversified
Spanish energy company
Abengoa, has signed an
agreement to acquire the
total capital of the Dedini
Agro group of companies
for €216 million.
Dedini Agro is one of the
companies in the Brazilian
bioethanol and sugar market. It
is dedicated to the cultivation
and processing of sugarcane
and the production of
bioethanol with two production
facilities in the State of Sao
Paolo.
Abengoa Bioenergy’s
acquisition introduces it to one
of the world's major
bioethanol markets with a
2006 annual production of
17,500 million litres.
It is now the only company to
be present in the world's three
major bioethanol markets: the
US, Brazil and Europe.
Following the integration of
Dedini Agro, Abengoa
Bioenergy aims to increase
production levels at the existing
facilities in Brazil, to develop a
new facility, and achieve more
effective international
marketing of the bioethanol
produced in Brazil.
Abengoa Bioenergy will
increase production by using
the cellulosic bioethanol
technology it is developing.

Goldman Sachs invests $400mi in Brazil ethanol

US investment bank
Goldman Sachs is set to
invest 400 million reais
(€156 million) in Brazil’s
second largest sugar
and ethanol producer
Santelisa Vale.
Santelisa Vale will process 18
million tonnes of sugarcane this
year. The company also has
plans for six new sugar mills,
with a capacity to crush 2.5
million tonnes of cane each – a
total of 15 million tonnes.
It also has a 72% stake in
Crystalsev, a company involved
in the commercialisation of
sugar, ethanol, and electricity,
with investment in a specialised
ethanol terminal.
‘Goldman Sachs brings the
necessary expertise for us to
leverage our growth plans in
the coming years,’ Santelisa
Vale, CEO Anselmo Lopes
Rodrigues, says.
Santelisa Vale has five mills
in Brazil. Four of the new mills
will be built in partnership with
private equity funds in
Companhia Nacional de
Açúcar e Àlcool (CNAA), three
of which will be located in
Minas Gerais and one in
Goiás. The other two new
mills are Santa Vitória (in
Minas Gerais), in which the
company holds a 72% stake,
and Tropical (in Goiás), with a
50% stake.

Trading Emissions buys into Brazil biodiesel plant

Trading Emissions, a
closed-end investment
company based in the
UK, has invested $66.1
million (€48 million) in
an equity stake to fund
the construction of a
biodiesel refining plant
in Brazil.
The plant, in the state of
Goias, will produce 200,000
tonnes of biodiesel annually,
and has secured the rights to
commercialise all credits it
receives – certified emissions
reductions (CERs) – for
cutting carbon emissions from
the project.
The plant is expected to be
commissioned in July 2008.
Additionally, the project will
invest in the cultivation of
non-edible feedstock,
including jatropha, to provide
a secure and cost-effective
supply to Bionasa
Combustivel Natural, a
specially formed company.
Paulo Todaro of Mercatto
Investimentos, the investment
advisor to Bionasa, says:
‘This deal represents one of
the largest biodiesel projects
in Brazil as well as one of the
largest equity plays in this
space.’
Ricardo Nogueira of EEA
Fund Management, the
investment advisor to TEP,
adds: ‘This is a great
opportunity for Trading
Emissions to partner with one
of Brazil’s leading agricultural
players and to benefit from
the Brazilian government’s
new legislation that sets
mandatory targets for the
proportion of biodiesel to be
blended in to Brazil’s
biodiesel.’ !