Inpasa obtains international certification, strengthens its role in SAF production

Photo: Inpasa

Inpasa, the largest ethanol producer in Latin America, announced May 29 that it received the CORSIA certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System May 23.

The certification is a strategic credential that enables the company to supply raw materials for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to Inpasa.

With this achievement, the company said it consolidates its leadership position in the country’s renewable energy chain and becomes part of a select group of global suppliers committed to the decarbonization of the aviation sector. 

The certification was initially granted to the Dourados unit in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, but all of the company’s plants are qualified to supply ethanol and technical corn oil (TCO) as raw materials for SAF.

The ISCC CORSIA seal is recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organization and attests to compliance with strict requirements for traceability, sustainability and emission reduction throughout the production chain. 

“SAF is a strategic vector to mitigate the climate impact of the global aviation sector, responsible for around 3 percent of CO2 emissions,” said Inpasa executive Eder Lopes. “By being certified, we are contributing directly to this global agenda, expanding Brazil’s role as a supplier of low-carbon solutions.”

The relevance of this move is directly linked to the company’s production capacity, Inpasa stated.

Currently, the company produces around 16 million liters of ethanol per day, equivalent to 5.8 billion liters (1.53 billion gallons) per year, and is already responsible for around 17 percent of Brazil’s national biofuel production, according to estimates by Brazil’s National Union of Corn Ethanol (UNEM) and SCA Brasil, the agribusiness consulting society, which closely monitor the sector.

Inpasa said the expectation is that, with all units operating at full capacity, the company will represent approximately 20 percent of Brazil’s ethanol production.

This scale allows Inpasa to position itself as one of the main supply platforms for technological routes such as alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), used to convert ethanol into SAF. 

In addition to ethanol, the company also stands out as a relevant supplier of TCO, or what is referred to as distillers corn oil in America, a strategic input for other SAF technological routes such as hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA).

The entire operation is based, for the most part, on second-harvest raw materials such as corn and sorghum without competing with food production and without causing changes in land use, which reinforces the sustainable profile of the production process, according to Inpasa. 

“The certification marks a new level of international credibility,” said Christopher Davies Jr., Inpasa’s director of sustainability. “We are anticipating trends, investing in technologies and contributing to a cleaner energy matrix for Brazil and the world.”

Inpasa began operations in Paraguay in 2008 and, since 2019, has been operating in Brazil with an approach that combines industrial scale, technological innovation and sustainability, the company said.

In 2024, Inpasa processed approximately 8.3 million tons of second-crop corn, resulting in the production of 3.7 billion liters (977.4 million gallons) of ethanol.

Since the beginning of its operations in Brazil, the company has sold ethanol equivalent to approximately 15 million tons of avoided CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels.  

The company’s operating units are certified by RenovaBio, a federal program that encourages the production of biofuels.

In 2024, approximately 1.3 million decarbonization credits (CBIOs) were issued. 

In addition to industrial efficiency, with the highest ethanol- and oil-yield rates per ton of processed grain, the company said it has stood out for its grain diversification with technologies that enable the inclusion of sorghum as an alternative, which reinforces the Inpasa’s commitment to second-crop agriculture in the production chain. 

The energy matrix is ​​also a differentiator—all units are self-sufficient, producing renewable energy from various biomass sources, and excess electricity is injected into the National Interconnected System (SIN).

In 2024, a total of 1,420 gigawatt-hours were generated, with the volume made available to the grid being enough to supply 134,000 homes for one year.

The company also has more than 23,000 solar panels installed in Sinop, Mato Grosso, and Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul. 

The commitment to good environmental practices is also publicly recognized through the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program’s Gold Seal, granted to companies that voluntarily report their greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions with independent verification.

In transportation, the company adopts lower-impact modes such as rail, pipeline and maritime. 

“The investment in alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) and HEFA inputs for the production of SAF positions Inpasa as a protagonist in the energy transition of the aviation sector,” the company stated.

With this move, Inpasa said it consolidates itself as a global player in the biofuels market and a strategic supplier of sustainable raw materials for the production of clean energy around the world. 

“As the planet moves towards a greener economy, Inpasa seeks to be a global reference in quality, efficiency and innovation in renewable solutions,” said Gustavo Mariano, the vice president of trading.