Amyris raises US$ 42 million to invest in sugarcane diesel
O Estado de S. Paulo
American technology company Amyris Biotechnologies announced the raisings of US$ 42 million in the international market to invest in the production of diesel from sugarcane in Brazil. The company that has a plant in the city of Campinas (SP) and is the holder of the technology in this segment received investments from new investors, among which Cornélio Brennand Group, from Recife, and the British Naxos UK group. Amyris has also received investments from its current shareholders, including Votorantim Novos Negócios, Fundos Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and TPG (Texas Pacific Group).
According to the CEO of Votorantim Novos Negócios, who is also a member of the board of Amyris, Fernando Reinach, the goal of the company is to invest these funds to change the production of sugarcane diesel from the experimental to the commercial scale. Reinach affirms the funds may be used to purchase a large plant and turn it from an ethanol producer into a sugarcane diesel producer or to build a new plant. "This diesel is practically sulfur free and it can replace the importation of mineral diesel Brazil has to do in order to cater to the domestic demand.
According to Reinach, after the sugarcane diesel becomes commercial, new products, like gasoline and aviation kerosene, also made from sugarcane, should be developed. The expectation of the company is that another US$ 18 million should be raised in the short term, amounting to US$ 60 million in 2009.
Amyris started the experimental production of renewable sugarcane diesel at the unit in Campinas in April. The productive capacity is 90 thousand liters a month, but the expectation is that the company should produce 1 billion gallons up to 2015. "We are developing new technologies so that the production of renewable diesel has low cost", said the officer. At this moment, the sugarcane diesel is already competitive compared to the oil, with its cost starting at US$ 70 a gallon.