According to Shell, Raízen (the name of which is the union of the words “root” and “energy” in Portuguese) will be one of the top five companies in the country in revenues, with an estimated market value of $ 12 billion and approximately 40,000 employees. It will be “one of the most competitive sustainable energy companies in the world;” says Shell.
Apart from producing ethanol, Raízen’s 23 mills will produce 4 million tons of sugar and have 900 MW of installed capacity to produce electric power from sugarcane bagasse. In the fuel area, the joint venture will sell approximately 20 billion litres of fuels to the transportation sector and industry and to its network of over 4,500 service stations.
"Due to the size of its operations, Raízen will help sugarcane ethanol, a sustainable, clean and renewable source of energy, to consolidate itself worldwide and strengthen Brazil‘s position in the international biofuels trading business," explains its appointed Chief Executive Officer, Vasco Dias.
"We were born big and we want to be even bigger. Raízen will have the size, talent, resources and technology to meet the needs of our customers, society and shareholders. We want to be recognized globally for our excellence in the development, production and marketing of sustainable energy," adds Vasco.
The process of integrating business units from Shell and Cosan, which are part of this joint venture, is underway and the company is expected to be launched in the first half of this year. Its mission: “to provide sustainable energy solutions through technology, talent and agility, maximizing value for clients and shareholders and contributing to society”.
As part of its remit to boost the development of green fuels, Raízen will boast Shell’s commercialization rights related to Iogen Energy, a world leading biotechnology firm specializing in cellulosic ethanol - a fully renewable, cellulosic biofuel that can be used in today‘s cars. Iogen built and operates a demonstration scale facility to convert biomass to cellulosic ethanol using enzyme technology.
It will also hold a 16.3% stake in Codexis, which develops optimized biocatalysts that make industrial processes faster, cleaner and more efficient. Codexis‘ technology is not only being used in advanced biofuels development by Shell, but also for carbon capture projects being conducted by Alstom.
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