RIO DE JANEIRO - ‌Brazilian refiner Acelen, owned by Abu Dhabi's ​Mubadala, has secured $1.5 billion to begin construction ​of a ​biofuels refinery in the northeastern state of Bahia, the company ⁠said on Thursday. Part of the investment will be financed by a group of 10 financial ​institutions, ‌led by ⁠HSBC and ⁠the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.

The refinery ​is expected to ‌start operations in ⁠2029 and produce up to 1 billion liters per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.

The full project is set to cost around $3 billion, and it includes the cultivation of ‌macauba, a native Brazilian oilseed that ⁠will be used in ​biofuel production, alongside more traditional feedstocks such as soybean oil ​and used ‌cooking oil.

(Reporting by ⁠Rodrigo Viga Gaier; ​Editing by Mark Porter)