Located in Nova Marilândia, in the Chapada dos Parecis region, in the state of Mato Grosso, ALD was established in 2019 and began operations in January 2021, processing 700 tonnes of corn daily from its 24 shareholders. Last year, the company achieved a record revenue of R$450 million.

Currently, 22% of the company’s total revenue comes from the production of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product used in animal nutrition and costing less than soybean meal. Last year, ALD also started producing corn oil and built a storage facility with an 80,000-tonne capacity.

At present, ALD processes 1,000 tonnes of corn per day. With the projected plant expansion, the company aims to reach 3,000 tonnes daily. The existing structure produces 150 million liters of ethanol and 103,000 tonnes of DDGS annually.

While ALD sells all its production domestically, it plans to export DDGS for use as animal feed in the future. Currently, the sector does not export this input but aims to capture a share of the global market. By the 2031/32 harvest, exporters plan to allocate 25% to 30% of their production to the international market.

According to Marco Orozimbo, the funds for the plant’s expansion will come from development banks, funds, and investments from the plant’s shareholders. The expansion was approved last month at the annual shareholders’ meeting.

“ALD currently consumes less than half of the corn produced by its shareholders, necessitating the expansion,” said Mr. Orozimbo. The total area planted by the 24 shareholders is 120,000 hectares, yielding approximately 800,000 tonnes of corn per harvest.

The executive explains that ALD originated from a cooperative of grain producers who had planted 120,000 hectares. With the growing demand for corn ethanol, the group of 24 farmers decided to invest in creating a sustainable industry to add value to their grain production.

The group recognized the growth potential of corn ethanol in the Midwest, where corn availability is high. This abundant supply ensures a low-cost raw material for biofuel production in the region, which has good logistical access to the North and Northeast of Brazil.

Located along the BR-364 highway, ALD generates all its energy from burning biomass such as sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, or eucalyptus wood chips in its boilers. The plant treats residual water used in ethanol production and uses it for fertigation. The ash produced from biomass burning is also used as biofertilizer for the shareholders’ crops, according to the CEO.

The plant currently operates in three shifts with 135 employees. ALD has participated in the RenovaBio program since 2022, and within a year, the plant achieved recertification and increased its ethanol-to-carbon credit (CBios) conversion factor by 28.5%.