Infrastructure firm, biodiesel producer sign agreement to develop biofuels market for navigation in Brazil

Vast Infraestrutura announced in late March that it and biodiesel producer Be8 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at developing the biofuels market for the maritime sector at the Port of Açu, located in the northern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The port is the second largest in the country in terms of vessel movement.

In 2024, over 7,300 ships accessed Açu.

“This new partnership with Vast allows us to work with biodiesel, which can be used for the bunker supplied to ships, and the new Be8 Bevant® to advance the decarbonization of port-management operations,” said Be8 President Erasmo Carlos Battistella.

“Be8 BeVant® was developed specifically to serve companies that consume large volumes of fossil fuels and are looking for a global solution to reduce emissions in the short term by replacing [100 percent of their] diesel,” he said.

The addition of biodiesel to traditional marine fuels, such as marine gasoil (MGO) and very-low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), also known as bunker fuel, is one of the main alternatives for decarbonizing maritime transport, which is responsible for about 3 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

The use of a B24 blend does not require modifications to the vessels’ engines.

In 2024, Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) authorized, for the first time, the commercialization of bunker with up to 24 percent biodiesel.

“The Port of Açu plays an important role in fostering the decarbonization of the maritime sector in Brazil,” said Eduardo Goulart, the commercial director of Vast Infraestrutura.

“Vast aims to contribute through two main pathways: one focused on providing low-carbon fuels and blends, and another offering electrification alternatives for moored vessels—an initiative that has already been adopted since 2024 for tugboats operating at Vast’s oil terminal,” Goulart explained.

The agreement includes studies for Vast to provide the necessary infrastructure and connect Be8 to fuel distributors and customers at the Port of Açu to foster this new market.

The MOU also includes studies to assess whether the Port of Açu could serve as an alternative for importing inputs used in the biodiesel production process, such as methanol, and as a new point for exporting and cabotaging the final product, addressing current logistical bottlenecks in the country.

In both cases, Vast’s liquid terminal will be the infrastructure used to receive, store and dispatch raw materials and biodiesel.

The Port of Açu still has available industrial land for the future installation of storage plants for the biofuels produced by Be8.