Recent developments at GraalBio revealed that it is ready to place an investment of $145 million to build the first ethanol plant in Brazil. The facility will also include an agricultural station that will develop new varieties of high-fiber cane, a pilot plant that will develop new biochemical pathways, and a research center that will develop genetically modified organisms. All these facilities will contribute to GraalBio’s mission to produce biochemicals and biofuels.
The production plant alone is expected to produce 82 million liters of ethanol. This cellulosic ethanol plant will initially use sugarcane bagasse and straw for a feedstock. Eventually, these materials will be replaced with energy cane.
GraalBio will collaborate with existing generation mills in Alagoas, where the facility will be constructed. This is GraalBio’s associative business model -- one that complements earlier generations of the ethanol industry. This way, both sides are synergized.
Every year, the deficiency in ethanol stands at one billion liters. On its part, GraalBio would try to solve the deficiency by using cane bagasse and straw and increase local production by 35%. GraalBio will do this without additional investments.
While GraalBio uses cane bagasse and straw, the company will continue on its research efforts to develop cross varieties of cane. Hybrid cane is seen as very productive, contains lower quantities of sugar and yields higher quantities of fiber per hectare. When combined, these factors will contribute to the development of the world’s most competitive biomass.
GraalBio expects that by the end of the year, Alagoas will have produced about 100,000 seedlings of cross varieties of cane. The goal is to produce 100 tons of dry mass per hectare at yearend.