White & Case Advises Lenders on $1.5 Billion Acelen SAF Biorefinery Project in Brazil
Why It MattersThe financing signals growing investor confidence in large-scale Latin American SAF production as airlines and regulators push to diversify sustainable aviation fuel supply chains.
White & Case LLP has advised a consortium of international lenders on the project financing of a $1.5 billion greenfield biodiesel facility being developed by Acelen in Brazil, described as one of the first large-scale projects in Latin America dedicated to producing both sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel.
The biorefinery is expected to begin operations in 2029 and will be among the largest facilities of its kind in the region, using diversified feedstocks to broaden Latin America's aviation fuel mix. Acelen projects annual output of up to 1 billion liters of SAF and renewable diesel.
The project covers the development, construction and operation of a new industrial facility adjacent to the existing Refinaria de Mataripe. Acelen plans to cultivate 144,000 hectares of degraded land, with 20 percent of that area allocated to partnerships with family farms and small producers. Acelen is an energy company controlled by Mubadala Investment Company, and the White & Case team was led by partner Armando Rivera Jacobo in Washington, DC for the agents side, with partner Ian Cuillerier in New York handling hedges, assisted by law clerk Joss Cary in London.
