Sojitz JV to build 2 biofuel plants in Brazil

Japan’s Sojitz Corp. will build two biofuel plants in Brazil this year, in conjunction with the Brazilian company Odebrecht, as part of a joint venture agreement. The joint venture company, ETH Bioenergia SA, currently operates seven biofuel plants which produce 1.3 billion liters of bioethanol annually from sugarcane. The two new biofuel plants will give ETH an annual capacity of 3.5 billion liters by 2015. Both Odebrecht and Sojitz are reported to be investing US$2.24 billion in these facilities. (June 22,2011)