Biofuels

The firm plans to build out the operation’s project pipeline and innovate in using alternative sources of feedstock.

The sector can provide an answer to numerous challenges such as energy security and portfolio diversification – GPs, energy majors and governments are finally showing serious intent.

The firm’s C$30m pilot vehicle invested exclusively in projects that could generate carbon credits and has been able to deliver IRRs in the high teens.

A renewed focus on the importance of diet and nutrition, as well as enthusiasm for more sustainable crop inputs and alternative materials, continue to provide opportunities for agtech investors.

Montreal-based Enerkem has just raised C$280m to build facilities in the US and Europe. We zoom in on the transaction’s structure and what it says about institutional appetite for advanced biofuels.

FPInnovations and Resolute Forest Products are launching a $17m venture that will produce bio-chemicals derived from wood, as part of an effort to renew the forest products industry.

‘Second-generation’ bioethanol has emerged stronger after the EU capped fuels produced from food crops and banned those made from palm oil. Market reactions were mixed.

The outlook for Brazil’s sugar and ethanol sector remains bleak, Fitch says, with more defaults and bankruptcy filings expected.

Chairman Julian Luciano has said that the company is shifting its portfolio to value-add strategies by selling ethanol plants, adding that the Macri government's willingness to talk to the private sector will see ADM increase its presence in Argentina.

The funding will go into expanding CerradinhoBio's production capacity for sugar ethanol and bio-based electricity.