Brazil’s Acelen will invest more than R$12 billion (US$2.44 billion) over the next 10 years in the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the hydrotreatment of vegetable oils and animal fat. The company is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2026. .

Acelen expects to produce 1 billion liters per year, move R$ 85 billion (US$17.3 billion) in the economy, contribute to the generation of 90,000 direct and indirect jobs and reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80% with the replacement of fossil fuel, which will make the company one of the largest producers of renewable fuels in the world.

Acelen was created by Mubadala Capital to operate the Mataripe Refinery (formerly known as RLAM), sold to Mubadala by Petrobras in 2021. Inaugurated in 1950, RLAM was the first refinery in Brazil. It is currently the second-largest in Brazil, with the highest installed capacity for production of gasoline, diesel and other oil derivatives in the country’s North and Northeast.

Mubadala Capital is the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, a leading global sovereign investor headquartered in Abu Dhabi. In Abu Dhabi, Acelen signed a memorandum of understanding for the production of renewable diesel and SAF with the government of the Brazilian state of Bahia.

Acelen intends to become one of the world leaders in producing renewable fuels from high-energy agricultural crops, from seed planting to the production of renewable fuels.

In the first phase of the project, in synergy with the agricultural potential of Brazil, soybean oil and complementary raw materials will be used, which have the largest available volume. In the second stage, Macaúba oil and palm oil will be used, with a forecast to start planting in 2025.

Macaúba is a tree-like palm species native to Brazil with high energy potential not yet explored on a commercial scale. The project provides for planting in an area of 200,000 hectares, prioritizing degraded land, the equivalent of 280,000 football fields.

The project was structured to have full synergy with the Mataripe Refinery, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure of utilities, tanking and logistics. A sustainable hydrogen generation unit will be built for the hydrotreatment of fuels. The forecast is to start the works as early as January 2024.

The production capacity will be 20,000 barrels/day, equivalent to the annual supply of 1.1 million vehicles. The production of green diesel and sustainable aviation fuel will be made, in principle, aimed at the foreign market, where these products are already approved for marketing and consumption.

Acelen will invest in genetics, improvement of agricultural productivity and selection of suitable areas. An industrial-scale seed germination laboratory will also be created, making investments in research with a number of public and private institutions inside and outside Brazil.