Brazil’s President Rousseff christens Raizen cellulosic biofuels plant

July 23, 2015 |

pr_23_07_2015Iogen’s technology at commercial-scale, and officially open for business.

In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff launched Iogen Energy’s cellulosic ethanol technology at the official opening of Raízen`s newly expanded Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil on July 22, 2015.

Iogen, a leading developer of cellulosic biofuel technology, and Raízen, one of the world’s largest producers of sugarcane ethanol, completed construction of the $US105 million advanced biofuel facility on time and on budget in December 2014.

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The facility converts biomass such as sugar cane bagasse and straw into advanced, second generation cellulosic biofuel. It is the first large-scale commercial implementation of Iogen Energy’s cellulosic ethanol technology, which the company developed and has extensively proven in its Ottawa, Canada demonstration facility.

The Raizen plant under construction

The Raizen plant under construction

Next steps

Raízen had previously announced that, given a success at Costa Pinto, it intends to deploy Iogen Energy`s technology in seven more Raízen sugar cane mills. “We plan to be producing up to 1 billion liters of cellulosic biofuel from bagasse and cane straw by 2024,” said Pedro Mizutani, Raízen’s Executive Vice President.

Reaction from the stakeholders

President Rousseff said “that the production of second generation ethanol from sugarcane bagasse is the realization of a dream for the country. The collaboration between the State and Raízen is part of the government’s commitment to ethanol production as a strategic measure for economic development.”

In attendance were several hundred enthusiastic observers including Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Eduardo Braga, the Governor of São Paulo State Geraldo Alckmin, Raízen Chairman Rubens Ometto, Raízen CEO Vasco Dias, Canadian Consul General to São Paulo Stéphane LaRue, and Iogen CEO Brian Foody. “This is paving the way for the sugarcane energy industry to consolidate its markets both in the Brazilian and world economies,” said Minister Braga during the ceremony.

“Raízen and Iogen are working together closely to transform second generation ethanol technology into a reality,” said Vasco Dias CEO of Raízen.

“We are very excited to have successfully completed this milestone event proving the commercial viability of cellulosic biofuels,” said Brian Foody CEO of Iogen Corporation. “This initiative represents a significant success story for our company. We have a great team of engineers, scientists and operators who’ve been working tirelessly with Raízen’s own excellent team. It has been a great partnership and we’re very pleased to be collaborating with a major ethanol industry player and committed partner like Raízen” Foody says. “Large scale commercialization in Brazil will open the door for global deployment of our technology.”

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