GranBio S.A. (São Paulo), a 100% Brazilian industrial biotechnology company, and NextChem, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A.’s (Rome, Italy) subsidiary for energy transition announced a strategic partnership to achieve global leadership in the licensing of patented GranBio 2G Ethanol technology to produce cellulosic ethanol.
GranBio’s 2G Ethanol technology converts lignocellulosic, non-food biomass to renewable, low carbon intensity biofuels. NextChem is partnering with GranBio to license this technology worldwide. The alliance combines GranBio’s technology and knowledge in second generation biomass and biofuels with NextChem’s engineering intelligence, EPC capabilities and Group global presence, to offer integrated services, feasibility studies, integration projects, engineering and construction of manufacturing plants around the world.
The technology developed by GranBio to produce 2G ethanol has already been implemented in its factory located in São Miguel dos Campos, in Alagoas, the first in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated to cellulosic ethanol.
“We will be pioneers in this business model, leading the development of the cellulosic-ethanol industry globally. Some countries already recognize the renewable carbon premium; our flexible method allows the use all types of agricultural waste and energy crops as feedstocks, such as cane straw, miscanthus, and corn stover and even leftover wood such as pine and eucalyptus. With the Alliance with NextChem, we have the ambition to conquer a significant share of the available market: we have the security and reliability that our technology is very promising,” says Paulo Nigro, CEO of GranBio.
“This partnership with GranBio improves our technological portfolio in biofuels with a flexible and profitable solution to produce ethanol, a globally used chemical with many established industrial applications and enormous potential,” says Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of NextChem and Maire Tecnimont. “GranBio’s reference plant is the only one of this kind, on an industrial scale, in operation at a worldwide level. We are confident in a winning solution that we shall be able to industrialize everywhere, thanks to our worldwide presence and engineering capabilities”.