Vibra Energia Enters into Partnership with BBF to Sell SAF from 2025

by Gabriel Chiappini (EIXOS (Google Translation)) Former BR Distribuidora will also have exclusive rights to sell green diesel that will be produced by the partner -- Vibra Energia has signed an exclusive marketing contract for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that Brasil BioFuels (BBF) intends to produce in Brazil from 2025.

The agreement is valid for five years and is in addition to the contract already signed between the parties for the purchase and sale of green diesel HVO (acronym, in English, for hydrotreating of vegetable oil).

The raw material for biofuels will be palm oil produced by BBF in the interior of Roraima.

The refining will be done in a plant to be built in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (AM). This promises to be the first industrial-scale production plant for both biofuels in Brazil.

The expectation is that around R$2 billion will be invested in the initial production of 500 million liters of biofuels per year. The unit is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025 and will be flexible — that is, it will be able to produce between HVO and SAF.

“Vibra has made the decision to expand its portfolio of energy offerings that are of interest to customers who want to make the energy transition,” the company’s CEO, Wilson Ferreira , told the press.

In recent months, Vibra — formerly BR Distribuidora — announced partnerships in the areas of biogas , ethanol marketing and renewable electricity and expressed interest in entering the green hydrogen business .

The company expects to start selling HVO and SAF by 2026. The initial volume produced is capable of replacing 2% of the current national demand for aviation kerosene and diesel met by Vibra.

Both HVO and SAF are drop-in fuels — that is, their respective uses do not require adaptations to machinery or the need for mixing, unlike biodiesel . This allows the replacement of fossil fuels with biofuels to occur more immediately.

Betting on the decarbonization of the Northern Region

The use of biofuels can generate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 50 to 90%, compared to diesel and aviation kerosene ( QAV ).

According to Vibra's executive director of operations, Marcelo Bragança , the company's idea, in principle, is to serve customers in the North Region of the country, helping them with their decarbonization ambitions.

The HVO and SAF initially produced at the BBF plant could replace up to 24% of the regional demand for QAV and diesel currently met by Vibra.

About SAF and green diesel

Latam , Gol and Azul are said to be the main companies interested in consuming SAF. Representatives from the airlines were also present at the project launch event on Monday (11/04) in Roraima.

BR Aviation — a Petrobras brand licensed to Vibra, which supplies aviation fuel — serves 90 airports in Brazil and accounts for 70% of the Brazilian market. In the North Region, it accounts for 94% of the market.

Industries and large mining companies in the region, especially Vale in Pará, are emerging as potential consumers of green diesel, to replace the diesel that fuels locomotives and large machines and trucks.

“We are betting on our customers who are interested in starting to make the transition at some point to using more renewables,” said Bragança

BBF promises competitive prices

BBF CEO Milton Steagall promises competitive products. The company's ambition, he says, is to deliver the “cheapest green diesel and SAF in Brazil, perhaps in the world.”

The company is committed to vertical production. Unlike other HVO and SAF projects in the world, BBF is responsible for the entire biofuel production chain, from the cultivation of the raw material to the refining of the vegetable oil.

According to the BBF, the productivity of palm oil — one hectare of palm produces ten times more oil than soy — and the lower cost of land in Roraima make SAF green diesel more attractive in the medium term, even in relation to fossil fuels.

“We will be competitive without burdening society. Our effort is to ensure that our product reaches international parity with fossil fuels as quickly as possible,” Steagall said.

Most of the palm oil production will be in the municipality of São João da Baliza, in Roraima.

By 2026, palm cultivation is expected to recover 120,000 hectares of areas considered degraded in the Amazon. The BBF's idea is that this will help with reforestation and the creation of green corridors between native forest areas, which will open up opportunities for generating carbon credits.

According to BBF director Dionisios Vossos, Roraima currently has 31 million hectares of degraded areas suitable for palm oil planting, which could result in the capture of 97 million tons of carbon.

For comparison purposes, Petrobras expects to reduce absolute emissions from its operations from 62 million to 59 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2025.

“We have a green pre-salt layer in our hands. With this area of 31 million hectares planted with palm oil, we could have a production greater than the Brazilian pre-salt layer of fossil oil,” commented the director. READ MORE