Tsubame to deploy distributed production technology in Brazil

Click to learn more. Tsubame and Atvos will deploy Tsubame’s technology in an aqueous ammonia plant adjacent to Atvos’ existing ethanol plant in Mineiros, central Brazil. Source: Atvos.

Tsubame BHB and Brazilian biofuels company Atvos have signed a letter of intent to deploy Tsubame’s smaller-scale ammonia production technology in Brazil. Adjacent to Atvos’ existing ethanol plant in Mineiros, central Brazil, the pair will develop a renewable-powered, aqueous ammonia plant with a capacity of 20,000 tons per year. The aqueous ammonia will be used to replace fossil-based fertilizers applied to surrounding agricultural areas.

As one of the largest biofuels producers in Brazil with the purpose to lead the energy transition to move the world and transform lives, Atvos seeks to contribute to the decarbonization of the globe’s leading economies while also reducing the carbon footprint of its own operations. Thus, the partnership with Tsubame to produce green ammonia represents a significant step toward achieving this goal, as it will enable us to reduce the use of fossil-based nitrogen fertilizers and further strengthen our commitment to fostering the social and economic development of the countryside cities where we are located through job and income generation.

Bruno Serapião, Atvos CEO, in Tsubame’s official press release, 11 Apr 2025

Brazil has great potential to become a major producer of green hydrogen, by leveraging its abundant renewable energy resources, and it is also a major agricultural nation that consumes nitrogen-based fertilizers in high volumes. As such, I believe that it is one of the countries that can manufacture green ammonia as a fertilizer at the small distributed ammonia synthesis plants offered by Tsubame BHB. I consider it a great honor to be able to collaborate with a major Brazilian bioethanol manufacturing company like Atvos, and I hope that through this collaboration, we can contribute to the decarbonization of agriculture in Brazil.

Koji Nakamura, Tsubame BHB CEO, in his organisation’s official press release, 11 Apr 2025

In January 2024, Tsubame BHB announced that it would partner with Agri Laos and State Enterprise for Agriculture Service to produce low-carbon fertilizer for domestic use in Laos. Tsubame will also deploy its production technology in a low-carbon, CCS-based demonstration off the coast of Japan in Niigata prefecture. Government agency JOGMEC will work with INPEX to develop enhanced gas recovery & CO₂ sequestration monitoring technologies for the 500 tons per year project.