Jet Fuel Made From Tropical Fruit Gets $3 Billion Backing

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“You basically need to beat the economics of soybeans and sugarcane,” said Thiago Sinzato, a senior bioenergy analyst at Rystad Energy. “If they can manage that, it’s an incredible project.” 

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Globally, SAF’s share of all aviation fuel last year was a minuscule 0.6%. Without mandates and policy support, it’s generally too expensive to compete. Brazilian sugar and fuels company Raízen SA experienced financial strain after its bets on SAF, second-generation biofuels and traceable sugar failed to pay off. 

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Jatropha, an oilseed-bearing shrub once hailed as a miracle crop, highlights the risks of using exotic plants to produce biofuels at scale. More than 250,000 hectares were planted with it in the late 2000s, mostly in China, but it’s unclear how much of that land is still productive and few additional plantations have been announced, according to an April report by BloombergNEF. 

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“Weak plant-breeding programs resulted in highly variable yields, undermining project economics and leading to widespread project failure,” the report’s authors wrote. 

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Acelen Renováveis says it has already secured long-term contracts for nearly 90% of its biorefinery production, much of which will come from soybeans and used cooking oil until the macauba plantations reach maturity. The refinery can also shift to making renewable diesel, which has a larger and more mature market than SAF. 

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The macauba project is driven in part by Europe’s mandate to increase the use of SAF, a policy expected to create demand that far exceeds today’s supplies of used cooking oil and animal fats. The Brazilian market is set to grow as well. Airlines are required to start cutting emissions in 2027 under rules that gradually increase reduction targets to 10% by 2037, with SAF expected to play a central role. 

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Planting macauba on degraded lands that would require significant investments to grow food will help Acelen Renováveis meet requirements to access these markets. The company needs to secure large areas of farmland, a complex task in Brazil, where fragmented ownership, contested land titles and overlapping claims from traditional and local communities can complicate acquisitions. 

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“The key challenge is proving, parcel by parcel, that the land it acquires is genuinely degraded,” said Bo Qin, an analyst at BloombergNEF, who added that the company is developing a verification system. 

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It’s also waiting for the EU to classify macauba as a non-food feedstock. While you won’t find it in a supermarket or listed on the back of a cereal-bar wrapper, macauba oil can potentially be used in foods ranging from margarine to ice cream. Barra says that because its protein content is lower than that of other food crops, it’s not suitable for the food supply chain. 

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For now, the company collects its fruit from the wild. It mapped out Minas Gerais state to identify 11 stands of superior macauba trees for seed production and cloning. The trees can grow to more than 50 feet and live for a century. The fruit grows in large clusters, resembling oversized bunches of grapes. 

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The first thing scientists do is test the embryos of each incoming batch. If they are viable, the fruit goes through separation machines to strip the pulp from the seeds. Then two robotic machines use AI to locate the embryos and drill small holes to facilitate germination. 

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The rest of the macauba gets turned into oil, fertilizer and animal feed for the scientists to test and study. The white kernel at the center of the fruit produces a separate type of oil that is too valuable to burn in engines and will be used for cosmetics. 

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Acelen Renováveis is collaborating with universities and consultancies to genetically modify the palm tree so that it doesn’t grow as tall, produces bigger fruits with more oil and without the five-inch thorns. The rest of Brazil’s agriculture industry is waiting to see if these drought-resistant trees spread. 

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