Shell Teams With Cosan to Manufacture Low-Carbon Biofuel

BRAZIL -- Shell has long been one of the largest distributors of sustainable biofuels. Now, the petroleum company will help manufacture a biofuel for the first time, as it joins forces with Cosan -- a cultivator, collector and processor of sugar cane -- to produce Raízen here.

According to Shell, Raízen, a clean-burning ethanol made from sugar cane, will be one of the lowest-carbon biofuels commercially available. Shell and Cosan expect to produce more than 528 million gallons of the fuel annually.

Low-carbon biofuels take carbon dioxide out of transport fuel. Raízen's 24 mills can process up to 62 million tons of cane into sugar or ethanol each year, Shell said in a press release. More production is possible in the future, if dictated by market demand.

"We are building a leading position in the most efficient ethanol-producing country in the world," said Peter Voser, Shell's CEO. "Low-carbon, sustainable biofuels will be increasingly important in the global transport mix."