Vinema to invest $354m for construction of biofuel mills in Brazil

Brazilian biofuel firm Vinema Biorefinarias do Sul (Vinema) plans to invest BRL720m ($354m) to set up six mills to produce biofuel from grains.

Together, the plants are estimated to generate 600 million liters (158 million gallons) of biofuel every year and are scheduled to commence operations before 2020.

These plants will utilise grains such as oats, rice and sorghum to generate fuel round the year.

The ethanol industry in the country derives most of its biofuel from sugarcane.

The first project will come up at Cristal city.

Vinema development projects director Neumann Machado told Bloomberg that the company will obtain majority of the equity commitments amounting to BRL40m ($19m) for the first plant within 40 days.

Machado further notes that the company will construct the plants in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a region that is not suitable for sugarcane growth.

According to the director, Rio Grande do Sul imports most of the state’s requirement of ethanol on trucks, which is expensive.

"Ethanol costs about 1.30 reais a liter at the gates of a mill in Sao Paulo. When it arrives here, it’s 1.60. That’s a big difference," Machado said.

The company additionally plans to sell ethanol as a feedstock for solvents and pharmaceuticals.