New biomass-to-ethanol facility signs agreement

Brazil-based ethanol producer Raizen Group is set to work with Canada-based cellulosic ethanol developer Iogen to develop a new commercial plant in South America.

Iogen has produced over 2 million litres of cellulosic ethanol at its demonstration plant in Ottawa since 2004, but this joint venture represents its first commercial foray.

Raizen produces 2.2 billion litres of ethanol a year from sugarcane feedstock and its investment will cover the engineering and development costs of the new biomass-to-ethanol facility.

‘We believe Iogen has one of the most robust technologies in the cellulosic ethanol business,’ says Raizen CEO Vasco Dias. ‘This is a first step in our strategy to make cellulosic ethanol in association with sugar cane production operations. We see tremendous potential for this technology in meeting the world's growing demand for cleaner and more sustainable fuels’

The new facility will be co-located at Raizen’s Costa Pinto facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil.