PRIMAVERA DO LESTE, BRAZIL — FS has announced plans for a third biofuels facility in Primavera do Leste, Brazil.

The new $420 million facility will be commissioned in 2023 and have a planned capacity of 150 million gallons of ethanol per year.

"Primavera do Leste is a very important region for FS due to the large supply of corn and its strategic location for distribution of our products", said FS' Chief Executive Officer Rafael Abud. "Like our other existing locations, zero fossil fuels will be used in the production process driving the global benchmark for low carbon biofuel production.”

With two ethanol plants amongst the largest in the country utilizing corn as a feedstock, in Lucas do Rio Verde and Sorriso, FS already has more than 375 million gallons per year of production capacity. With the inauguration of the Primavera do Leste plant, the company is expected to become one of the three largest ethanol producers in Brazil, reaching a production capacity of 525 million gallons per year. With the full investment plan, which includes three more plants by 2026 also in the state, FS would reach production capacity of 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol per year.

In 2020 FS obtained the certification to be part of RenovaBio and issue decarbonization credits (CBIOs) and, in 2021, made six long-term commitments to society (Sustainability Commitment FS 2030). These commitments have goals correlated with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and in line with the Paris Agreement.

The company currently has the best Energy-Environmental Efficiency Score (NEEA) of anhydrous ethanol in the country. In addition, FS is also the only producer of certified corn ethanol with the disclosure of primary data, which includes full traceability of agricultural emissions from grain suppliers and adhering to the Climate Bonds Initiative, according to Sustainalytics' assessment.

Also, in 2021 FS announced the implementation of Brazil's first BECCS (Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) project. FS's BECCS project, located at Lucas do Rio Verde plant, has made significant progress throughout the year, which includes hiring Schlumberger as a key partner for geological and injection studies. Following implementation of this project, FS is expected to be the first globally to produce a negative carbon liquid biofuel at scale.