Shell’s new $12 Billion Investment in Sugarcane Ethanol with Cosan
Shell and Cosan, one of the world’s largest sugarcane ethanol companies based in Brazil, signed binding agreements to form a $12 billion joint venture for the production and commercialization of ethanol and power from sugarcane. The JV would be the third largest ethanol producer in the world with 4,500 retail stations and annual production 440 million gallons. Sugarcane is the currently the most efficient feedstock for larger scale ethanol production. While corn ethanol delivers little more energy output than the total energy necessary to grow, process, and transport it; sugarcane ethanol delivers eight times the energy output as lifecycle energy input.