Mubadala‑Backed Acelen Secures $1.5 B to Build Brazil Biofuel Plant

Acelen Renováveis, the energy arm of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital, closed a financing package of US$1.5 billion (about R$7.5 billion) to start construction of a bio‑refinery in São Francisco do Conde, Bahia. The plant, part of a US$3 billion investment, will produce 1 billion litres a year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from 2029, using macaúba palm oil, soybean oil and animal fat. The project expects to create roughly 3,600 direct and indirect jobs at peak construction and has already contracted about 90 % of its future output.

Financing comes from a ten‑institution consortium led by HSBC and the International Finance Corporation, including Brazil’s BNDES, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, BID Invest, AIIB, FinDev Canada, KfW IPEX‑Bank, Bradesco, BBVA and Bank of China. The project aligns with Brazil’s future‑fuel law, which mandates rising SAF use in aviation, and is seen as a step toward positioning Brazil as a hub for low‑carbon fuels for heavy transport and aviation in Europe and the United States.