By Brazil Stock Guide — Acelen Renováveis, the renewable-energy arm backed by Mubadala Capital, signed a strategic agreement with Trafigura to supply feedstock and market renewable fuels from its planned biorefinery in Bahia, tightening the commercial structure behind one of the world’s largest renewable-fuels projects under development.
The agreement gives Trafigura a role on both ends of the value chain: supplying raw materials to the plant and buying part of its future output of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and green naphtha. For Acelen, the deal reduces execution risk by linking certified feedstock supply with access to export markets in North America and Europe.
The Bahia biorefinery is being developed after Acelen recently announced a US$1.5 billion financing package. The plant will use HEFA technology – hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids – and is expected to have capacity to produce up to 1 billion liters per year of SAF and HVO.
Under the agreement, Trafigura will supply about 470,000 metric tons per year of used cooking oil, enough to produce roughly 459 million liters of SAF. In return, the commodity trader will acquire part of the future production of SAF, HVO and green naphtha, a renewable input used in gasoline and plastics.
The volume to be purchased by Trafigura – around 5,500 barrels per day of SAF and HVO – would be enough to fuel as many as six daily flights on the São Paulo–Paris route, according to company estimates based on an Airbus A380 with capacity for 470 passengers.
Acelen said the products covered by the agreement will meet international sustainability and traceability standards required in major global markets, including ISCC EU certification and requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“The participation of Trafigura validates a model we consider essential for the success of the biorefinery: the integration of certified feedstock supply with access to end markets,” Cristiano da Costa, Acelen Renováveis’ vice president for commercial and trading, said in a statement. “Having a global counterparty operating at both ends of the value chain brings greater predictability to the operation, reduces execution risks and contributes to building a robust long-term commercial platform.”
Sebastian Jaworski, Trafigura’s head of oil trading for Latin America, said Brazil has a significant opportunity in sustainable fuels. “By combining the Bahia biorefinery’s large-scale production capacity with Trafigura’s expertise, we will expand the reach of these products, helping more companies advance their decarbonization goals,” he said.
Acelen Renováveis said it has already secured about 90% of the contracts needed for the biorefinery’s operation, including feedstock supply agreements and long-term offtake contracts mainly targeting the U.S. and European markets.
The deal reinforces the company’s strategy of building an integrated commercial platform around global counterparties, as Brazil seeks to position itself as a competitive supplier of low-carbon fuels to aviation, transport and petrochemical markets.