In the North of the country, Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels) has taken on the mission of promoting the development of a true "green pre-salt". There are more than 31 million hectares of degraded areas in the Amazon available to be recovered with the sustainable cultivation of oil palm. This crop offers an ecologically correct solution for the production of biofuels, the generation of clean energy and the development of renewable inputs for the chemical industry. This is a unique opportunity to change the face of one of the most deprived parts of the country and promote environmental preservation at the same time.
"Brazil has the potential to be the world leader in palm oil production, given the size of the area available for the development of this crop in the Northern Region," says Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF, about Brazil's "green pre-salt". The executive's vision can be proven in figures.
Decree 7172 of 2010, of the Federal Government, established the Agroecological Zoning of the Oil Palm. The law relied on a robust study conducted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which defined areas to develop the crop in a sustainable way in the country, in order to protect and recover the Amazon forest. Each hectare with permission for planting was demarcated by satellite images, georeferenced, on land that had been degraded by December 2007.
The result: 31 million anthropized hectares suitable for oil palm cultivation in the north of Brazil. Production begins in the fourth year and each hectare is capable of generating enough raw material to produce up to 8,000 liters of palm oil.
A simple calculation reveals the size of all the power that Steagall saw. The lands demarcated by the federal government could yield approximately 240 billion liters of palm oil per year. The volume is equivalent to almost three times the entire world production in 2022, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's figures for the last harvest.
The figures also show that BBF is right to call the land "green pre-salt". Last year, Brazil extracted 1.103 billion barrels of oil, according to the National Oil and Gas Agency. This volume is equivalent to around 175 billion liters of oil, adding up all the wells on national territory, including those in the pre-salt layer off the Brazilian coast. In other words: around 30% less than the potential for generating palm oil in the areas demarcated by Embrapa.
From 'green pre-salt' to society
Grupo BBF has found potential in São João da Baliza, in the southeast of Roraima, to start developing the "green pre-salt". Founded in 2008, the company initially focused its activities on producing biodiesel to replace the fossil diesel used to generate renewable electricity to serve isolated communities in the Amazon region that are not part of the National Interconnected System (SIN). The business model is vertical: it starts with the sustainable cultivation of oil palm and works its way up to the megawatt (MW).
"The model involves planting, harvesting and consuming in the Northern Region," Steagall explained. "Fossil diesel is produced far from isolated communities, which greatly increases transportation costs. That logistical edge becomes competitive for oil palm biofuels."
With this business model, Grupo BBF generates renewable electricity for more than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the Northern Region. There are thousands of families who, as well as having electricity for appliances such as showers, fridges and fans, can also connect to the rest of the world with their computers and smartphones.
In São João da Baliza, the city where the company's headquarters are located, BBF develops operations that integrate all the processes of the different stages of the verticalized production model. With a hybrid thermoelectric plant, 17.9MW of renewable electricity is generated for Roraima. It was in this state that the company took its first steps, and it is the only one in the country that is not yet part of the SIN.
Thanks to the company's years of performance, now the population of Roraima has a non-polluting alternative for getting electricity and not depending on energy imports from neighboring countries like Venezuela. All without the need to build large structures to carry energy from one place to another.
With operations fueled by biodiesel, BBF removes more than 106 million liters of fossil diesel annually from the Amazon. In this way, it prevents sulfur from being emitted into the atmosphere. This component generates acid rain, polluting the waters and the soil of one of the most important biomes on the planet.
The company's oil palm cultivation extends over some 75,000 hectares and generates about 200,000 tons of oil per year. The area is equivalent to more than a third of all the land dedicated to cultivation in the country, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. And since the management is carried out only in degraded areas, nature recovers with each new seedling planted.
The group's activities have spread to four other states in the Northern Region. They are: Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia and Pará. Currently, Grupo BBF has 25 plants in operation and another 13 are in the process of being set up, making a total of 38 units. With its current operations, the company has a power generation capacity of 86.8 MW.
This year, the construction of the group's thermoelectric plants in Roraima received R$ 133.4 million. The fundraising occurred through debentures - loan securities - traded on B3. Genial Investimentos coordinated the offering.
"We are attracting investments and bringing in partners for a completely sustainable project, which combines decarbonization of the Amazon and socio-economic development in the region, with a focus on generating jobs and income in the north of the country," said the CEO of Grupo BBF.
New projects
Now, BBF is building new projects that transcend its region of origin. Production continues in the North - from planting to processing and energy generation. But the company intends to take the product mix to the rest of the country and the world.
One of them involves a partnership with Vibra Energia - formerly BR Distribuidora. The agreement focuses on the supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the new Green Diesel (HVO), unprecedented in Brazil. To fulfill the contract, the country's first biorefinery is being built by Grupo BBF in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (AM).
For the implementation of the new unit, R$ 2.2 billion in investments are planned. The inauguration of the Manaus biorefinery is scheduled for the end of 2025. A new boom in manufacturing volume and jobs will occur with the start of activities.
By 2026, the chain built from refining the two products will increase the number of direct jobs generated by Grupo BBF from the current 7,000 to 20,000 employees, the CEO estimates.
Future production of the two biofuels combined is estimated at 500 million liters annually. To meet demand, oil palm planting will be expanded to an additional 120,000 hectares in Roraima by 2026.
HVO and SAF are drop in. This means that current engines that use fossil fuels do not need to be adapted to use them. With them, it will be possible to help in the decarbonization of several companies. Among them, GOL, Azul, and Latam.
Alternative for petrochemicals
In February, the group started BBF BioTech. The new business unit is responsible for developing AmazonBio Care, a line of renewable inputs to replace fossil-based raw materials used in the manufacture of cosmetics and other products.
Production began in Ji-Paraná (RO). Investments at the site reached R$ 33 million. The unit is capable of producing more than 3 thousand tons per month. In the second half, however, the construction of a new industrial plant in Manaus will have an investment of R$ 90 million and will double the capacity of the new business unit.
To develop the new line of renewable inputs, Grupo BBF signed partnerships with the Technological Research Institute, USP and Unicamp. In 2022, the company registered 11 patents in its portfolio. The goal is to add value.
According to Steagall, the kilo of input for the cosmetics industry is sold at around R$ 60 - a value ten times higher than the vegetable oil at the manufacturer's origin. "BBF BioTech comes to offer the best combination between sustainability and new technologies with an exclusive line of products produced from vegetable oils," concluded CEO Milton Steagall.
