Sojitz to expand bioethanol business

Japanese trading house Sojitz Corp. is eyeing expansion of its ethanol business in Brazil by 2012-2013 through the merger of its local joint venture, ETH Bioenergia, with Brenco Holding, the company said. Sojitz holds a 33.3% stake in ETH Bioenergia. The new company, also called ETH Bioenergia, will have nine ethanol plants near Sao Paulo in the country’s southeast in operation by 2012-2013, with the capacity to compress 40 million metric tons per year (MTPY) of sugarcane, produce 3 million kiloliters per year (51,697 barrels per day) of ethanol and generate 2,700 GWh of power from sugarcane bagasse-based feed stocks. ETH Bioenergia currently has four ethanol plants, which produced a total of 230,000 kl of ethanol in 2009. The additional five plants, which have been built by Brenco, will be operational by the fiscal year ending in March 2013, a Sojitz official said. Japan’s fiscal year runs from April to March. (March 1, 2010)