By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s development bank BNDES has approved about R$450 million in financing for the construction of what will be the country’s largest biometane plant, a project in Paulínia, São Paulo, led by Onebio, a joint venture between Edge, part of Cosan, and waste management company Orizon VR (ORVR3). Roughly 80% of the funding will come from the federal Fundo Clima, with the remainder provided through BNDES’ Finem credit line.
The facility will be built at Orizon’s Ecopark landfill in Paulínia and will purify biogas generated from urban waste into renewable biometane. Once fully operational, the plant will have the capacity to produce up to 225,000 cubic meters per day, positioning it as the largest biometane operation in Brazil and a benchmark for large-scale projects linked to municipal solid waste.
According to BNDES, the project aligns with the federal government’s push to accelerate the energy transition and curb greenhouse-gas emissions. Bank president Aloizio Mercadante said the plant is expected to avoid the release of about 100,700 tons of CO₂ equivalent per year, underscoring the role of biometane in Brazil’s climate strategy.
For Edge, the financing strengthens the business case for renewable gas as a substitute for fossil fuels. Chief executive Demetrio Magalhães said biometane can reduce emissions by nearly 90% compared with diesel, while benefiting from the existing natural gas infrastructure, which lowers logistical and scaling costs for industrial users and heavy transport fleets.
Orizon VR CEO Milton Pilão described the Paulínia unit as a pioneering model for expanding biometane production from landfills across Brazil. He said the project mirrors Orizon’s experience in Pernambuco and is expected to serve as a template for future plants, reinforcing the environmental value of converting urban waste into clean energy.
The project also has a regional economic impact. During construction, the plant generated an estimated 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing to local development while advancing Brazil’s low-carbon economy. With biometane increasingly seen as a practical decarbonization tool for industry and heavy transport, the Paulínia investment highlights how public financing is being used to unlock scale in renewable gas.
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