FS Bioenergia’s Brazil Corn Ethanol Plant Seen as First of Many

Brazil’s first ethanol plant to exclusively use corn, in a country that makes nearly all of its ethanol from sugar cane, has begun industrial-scale operations and is expected to lead to as many 10 other such nearby plants during the next decade.

The 450-million-real ($142-million), 240 million liter a year ethanol plant in Mato Grosso state had its formal opening Aug. 11. The plant’s owner and operator is FS Bioenergia, a joint venture between Summit Energy, a U.S. private equity firm, and Fiagril, a Brazilian grains trader. Mato Grosso, located in western Brazil, is the center ...