São Martinho SA, one of Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol groups, has announced that it has received approval for a BRL 941.6 million (≈ EUR 144.8 million) financing line from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for a series of investments in projects aimed at technological modernization and increasing agro-industrial productivity and efficiency at all of the company’s mills.
According to a statement, the approved BRL 941.6 million (≈ EUR 144.8 million) corresponds to 79 percent of the total investment of BRL 1.2 billion (≈ EUR 184.5 million) planned by the company to implement all of its field projects. São Martinho’s initiatives are aligned with BNDES’ focus on financing projects that meet the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.
New corn ethanol plant
The financing will be used to build a corn ethanol mill attached to the Boa Vista Mill in Quirinópolis, Goiás. This will have an annual production capacity of around 210 000 m3 of ethanol (110 000 m3 hydrous ethanol and 100 000 m3 anhydrous ethanol), 150 000 tonnes of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), and 10 000 tonnes of corn oil.
The additional ethanol production in Goiás will enable the company to expand the issue of Decarbonization Credits (CBIOs) in the coming years, in accordance with the targets set in the RenovaBio program.
Operational startup of the new mill is scheduled for November 2022, initially at 50 percent capacity during the 2022/23 crop year and 100 percent from the 2023/24 crop year.
The BNDES financing will also be used to expand and modernize the Boa Vista Mill itself, whose annual production of yeast, used in animal feed, will be increased from 1 000 tonnes to 8 500 tonnes.
New biomass power plant
The new investments will also go towards building a new biomass thermal power plant fueled by sugarcane bagasse – UTE São Martinho Bioenergia – inside the industrial complex in Pradópolis, São Paulo.
The thermal power plant will have a generation capacity of around 210 GWh, of which 177 GWh have already been contracted for 25 years through the A-6 auction held in October 2019, which will represent a 22 percent increase in biomass co-generation.
São Martinho has also planned investments in innovation projects to streamline production processes at the Santa Cruz mill in Américo Brasiliense and the Iracema mill in Iracemápolis, both in São Paulo.
These investments will be fundamental for the growth and future of São Martinho over the next decade by aligning innovation, productivity, and best sustainable practices at all of our industrial units. We are optimistic and prepared for a new phase in the sugar and ethanol sector, using corn as the new raw material to expand our ethanol production in the Midwest region of Brazil and also to contribute to the supply of more renewable energy throughout the country, said Fabio Venturelli, CEO of São Martinho.
The projects, already approved by the Board of Directors of the company, should be fully implemented by 2026, generating more than 1 300 indirect and 200 direct jobs and income in the interior regions of São Paulo and Goiás.
