Participants: Marcelo Cordaro, Acelen’s VP of New Business, Rodrigo Rollemberg, Secretary for Green Economy, Decarbonization and Bioindustry at the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Luis Gabriel Azevedo, Head of ESG at IDB Invest, and Peter Eisner, Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute.
At COP28 Acelen held the panel “Seeding the Energy Transition: Macauba and the Future of Low-Carbon Biofuel” to highlight the full potential of macauba as the main raw material for the world’s energy transition.
During the debate, held at the stand of the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI), participants highlighted the environmental, social and economic benefits of the Brazilian plant in the production of renewable fuels: SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and renewable diesel.
According to Marcelo Cordaro, compared to other crops, macauba has higher oil yield per hectare and is more water-user efficient.
“It will be the most competitive plant in the world. We will invest more than $2.5 billion dollars over ten years with a lot of innovation and partnerships around the world. We will also use family farming and the best agricultural and environmental practices, with carbon capture and reduced CO2 emissions from seed to fuel,” said Cordaro.
Due to his experience as Secretary for Green Economy, Rodrigo Rollemberg was enthusiastic about Acelen’s energy transition project. “I am convinced that we will be able to progress quickly and approve the regulated carbon market,” he said.
Luis Gabriel Azevedo, from IDB Invest, praised Acelen’s project and business positioning: “Innovative and conveying credibility and competence.”
Dr. Peter Eisner, a German scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute, pointed out that macauba is a virtuous plant because it serves various production purposes simultaneously. “Fuels, food, fibers and by-products: the plant provides raw materials for products in all these areas,” he said.
And in the case of the application of macauba oil in aviation, he anticipates exponential potential:
“Around 2.5 tons of oil can be produced per planted hectare. If there are 150 million hectares of degraded land in Brazil, we can plant macauba in these areas without creating any deforestation damage and adding value to these lands by generating 375 million tons to meet the great global demand,” he concluded.