TMO Renewables and Usina Santa Maria have agreed to collaborate on a project to build a second generation commercial production plant in Brazil that will convert sugar cane waste, known as bagasse, to cellulosic bioethanol. Under the MOU, the two companies will build, own and operate a 10 million litre pilot plant which will be followed by a full-scale industrial plant scheduled to start production in 2014. The resulting bioethanol will be used to power Flex-Fuel vehicles in Brazil’s domestic market.
TMO has worked with the British company BB2e which helped to build a strong relationship between TMO and Usina Santa Maria. Negotiations began in September 2012 when representatives from TMO accompanied the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, as part of a UK business delegation to Brazil.
“This is a great example of how British businesses can profit from our trade missions and succeed in fast growing markets” the Prime Minister said. “This exciting new venture is testament to British expertise in pioneering technologies, such as biofuels. And with over 150 new British jobs in the pipeline, it shows how by doing more abroad we can reap the benefits back at home.”
David Weaver, Chief Executive of TMO, added that of all the world’s largest economies, Brazil has made the decision to encourage flex engine cars that can run on 100 percent ethanol using a process developed by TMO over ten years.
“We will now prove the effectiveness of our process by building the first plants of their kind to convert waste-to-ethanol at commercial volume” he said.
Under Mr Weaver’s stewardship, TMO has now moved from being a purely research-based entity to a fully-commercialised company. The agreement between TMO and Usina Santa Maria will create jobs in both Brazil and the UK. Brazil is the second largest producing nation of First Generation ethanol due to a rapidly-developing demand for a replacement to hydrocarbon fuels. A Letter of Intent signed by TMO in 2012 secured long-term supply of feedstock and the MOU moves the process forward by guaranteeing a 20-year supply of feedstock as part of the joint venture to build the plant.
“Our friends and partners, particularly Mr. Edson Patto on our side and Rodolpho Koch, Theo Chapman and James Buchan from BB2E, have been fundamental in developing this opportunity into a contract” said José Pilon, Director and President of the Usina Santa Maria. “I believe this is a milestone for ethanol industry and I feel honored and privileged to be a part of this moment. We hope TMO feels the same and we look forward to new opportunities.”
Brazil is also the world’s leading market for ethanol fuels and according to two separate research studies conducted in 2009 some 65 percent of Flex-Fuel registered vehicles regularly use ethanol fuel, climbing to 93 percent in São Paulo.
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