Brazil-based BSBios acquires biodiesel plant in Switzerland

BSBios has acquired Switzerland-based MP Biodiesel, located about 75 miles from Geneva. (Photo: BSBios)

Brazilian biodiesel firm BSBios has acquired 100 percent of a small biodiesel production facility in Switzerland. The MP Biodiesel plant, located in Domdidier, in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, has the capacity to manufacture nearly 1.5 million gallons per year (mgy). The company stated that the acquisition marks a new stage in its entering the international market, with emphasis on the European market. BSBios has a goal to be among the three largest biofuel producers in the world. The company owns two 109 mgy biodiesel plants in Brazil and is developing the 300 mgy Omega Green renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel project in Paraguay.

The Brazil-based biofuel producer said it had already been developing its commercial relations with Europe from a subsidiary in Switzerland for five years and, last May, it became part of BSBios, called BSBios Switzerland.

"We are proud to take this further step, which reaffirms our orientation to internationalize BSBios,” said Erasmo Carlos Battistella, CEO of BSBios. “With the operation, we become a multinational producer of renewable fuel, trading and operating second generation biofuels. The operation in the country has growth potential and the plant is located in the center of Europe, which gives us a strategic position on the continent.”

The MP Biodiesel plant utilizes used cooking oil (UCO) from canola and, to a lesser extent, sunflower as feedstock for biodiesel production.

“The company is already investing and we will expand the structure for collecting and receiving UCO in Switzerland because the strategy is aligned with our goal of investing and generating value in sustainable businesses,” Battistella said.

BSBios plans to make investments in the next six months to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process, in addition to expanding the capacity and training the sales team. It is also studying the expansion of supply in the short term through partnerships with distribution networks, and the expansion of the supply structure, the company stated.

MP Biodiesel was founded in 2005 by two canola farmers, Müller Hans and Pellaux Jean-Luc, who built the plant to add value to their own crop oils. They each have a half share in MP Biodiesel and manage the enterprise. As part of the agreement with BSBios, the owners will support the transition for two years. The plant is about 75 miles from BSBios Switzerland’s headquarters in Geneva.