Mossi & Ghisolfi from Tortona (near Alessandria), through its subsidiary Beta Renewables, is to build Brazil's first plant for the production of second-generation biofuels. GraalBio Investimentos has indeed chosen Italian technology and installations for its production of bioethanol, the "green" fuel derived from agricultural waste or from non-food crops.
The agreement was signed in Brazil in the presence of the Italian environment minister, Corrado Clini, who is also chairman of the Global Bioenergy Partnership.
The construction of the facility, which will begin this summer in the state of Alagoas, will be done by Chemtex, an engineering company belonging to the Mossi & Ghisolfi group and specialising in the design and construction of industrial plants in the a range of sectors (petrochemicals, polymers, fibres, energy, biofuels and environmental technologies. By the time it is operational (by the end of 2013), the facility will have an annual production capacity of 65,000 tons of bioethanol and will use locally-sourced waste produced in the processing of sugar cane.