GranInvest Secures $149m Funds To Develop Ethanol Plant In Brazil

EBR Staff Writer Published 08 May 2013 GranInvest, a bio-fuel producer, has secured $300.3m funds from Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) in Brazil to finance the construction of an ethanol plant in Brazil. The second generation ethanol production plant will be located in São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, and is estimated have an annual production capacity of 82 million liters. The investment is said to be a part of the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation Sector Sugarcane and Sucroquímico (PAISS) for financing the development and production of new technologies to process bio-fuel from sugarcane. The program has selected 35 bio-production projects intending to invest $3bn. With this project, the bank has completed the financing $2bn for the cellulosic ethanol projects. Meanwhile, the plant will use straw and bagasse to produce ethanol so as to increase output by up to 45% compared to current levels. It is touted as the first commercial-scale plant in the country and second in the world with similar plant developed in Italy. Taylor Scott International