"
The substitution of KCl fertilizer with Verde's Product results in immediate carbon reductions and thus bolsters Verde's sales value proposition, potentially strengthening Product sales among farmers who track their emissions to meet decarbonization goals.
BRAZILIAN NATIONAL BIOFUELS POLICY AND RENOVACALC PARAMETERS
The Brazilian National Biofuels Policy (“RenovaBio”) is a federal government initiative formally established by Law 13.576/2017.6 RenovaBio aims to support
RenovaBio's guiding principle for achieving its objectives is to incentivize fuels that have a lesser impact on global warming, specifically those that result in lower lifecycle greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, such as biofuels.
The policy operates through the following steps:7
- Establishing of long-term national goals (over 10 years) for reducing GHG emissions in the Brazilian fuel matrix,
- Breaking down of these national targets into individual mandatory targets for fuel producers,
- Assessing the performance of fuel producers through RenovaCalc. The tool employs an attributional approach for the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of biofuels, encapsulating the "well-to-wheel" scope which assesses the environmental impact from fuel extraction to its end use in vehicle propulsion. The tool utilizes inventory data from the Ecoinvent v.3.1 database for upstream agricultural processes, prioritizing inventories specific to
Brazil (BR), global averages (GLO), and, when unavailable, data from the 'Rest of the World' (RoW), which is an exact copy of the GLO dataset with adjusted uncertainty. For biofuel distribution and usage, RenovaCalc relies on official and sectoral statistics and a tool for estimating greenhouse gases for intersectoral sources. With these inputs, RenovaCalc calculates the carbon intensity (CI) of produced biofuels using standardized lifecycle emission factors. - Translating biofuels’s carbon intensity into an Environmental Efficiency Score (“EES”).
- Certifying fuel production based on each producer's EES, leading to the generation of Biofuel Decarbonization Credit Certificates (“CBIOs” from the Portuguese “Créditos de Descarbonização de Biocombustíveis”), awarded to producers of renewable biofuels based on the volume of production and the sustainability of their processes. CBIOs are digital financial securities held by financial institutions authorized by the
Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum , Natural Gas and Biofuels (“ANP”), representing the reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide emissions, verified by RenovaCalc through each fuel's lifecycle analysis. - These certificates can then be sold in the financial market, primarily to fossil fuel distributors who are mandated under Brazilian law to offset a portion of their carbon emissions by purchasing CBIOs.8 This certification is conducted by auditors accredited by the ANP.
Based on Brazil’s potash consumption for sugarcane and corn for ethanol production, the use of K Forte® as a potash source could potentially avoid the emission of up to 300,429 tons of CO2 per year,9 due to the reduction in emissions associated with KCl production from 350,912 tons of CO2 to 50,483 tons associated with K Forte® production. Given the average price of CBIOs in the last 6 months, at
Replacing KCl with the Product in a standard biofuel production plant12 would result in an approximate 0.8% increase in the Environmental Efficiency Score of the production chain.
“The potential annual avoidance of CO2 emissions is equivalent to taking approximately 65,000 cars off the road for an entire year,13 or the amount of CO2 absorbed by approximately 5 million tree seedlings grown over ten years. This represents a tremendous impact,” commented
BRAZILIAN AGRIBUSINESS DECARBONIZATION
Decarbonization in agriculture is becoming an ever more relevant topic.
Energy agriculture presents a pivotal opportunity to transform Brazilian agribusiness as global economic growth fuels increased energy demand. Ethanol and biodiesel, as alternatives to fossil fuel energy, are gaining traction. Produced from renewable resources such as sugarcane and forest biomass, these biofuels are a step towards sustainability. Sugarcane ethanol, noted for its exceptionally low carbon footprint, contributes significantly to
In
RenovaBio sets annual decarbonization targets for the fuel sector to boost biofuel production and use in the nation's transport energy matrix. By 2030, RenovaBio aims to achieve more than a 10% reduction in GHG emissions within the Brazilian transport sector, significantly contributing to the national commitment of a 43% total GHG emission reduction.17
Internationally, similar initiatives to RenovaBio, such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) of the
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CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE AND FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
All Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resources estimates reported by the Company were estimated in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and the
This document contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this document. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to:
- the estimated amount and grade of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves;
- the estimated amount of CO2 removal per ton of rock;
- the PFS representing a viable development option for the Project;
- estimates of the capital costs of constructing mine facilities and bringing a mine into production, of sustaining capital and the duration of financing payback periods;
- the estimated amount of future production, both produced and sold;
- timing of disclosure for the PFS and recommendations from the Special Committee;
- the Company’s competitive position in
Brazil and demand for potash; and, - estimates of operating costs and total costs, net cash flow, net present value and economic returns from an operating mine.
Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "envisages", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on Verde's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. The most significant assumptions are set forth above, but generally these assumptions include, but are not limited to:
- the presence of and continuity of resources and reserves at the Project at estimated grades;
- the estimation of CO2 removal based on the chemical and mineralogical composition of assumed resources and reserves;
- the geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock conforming to sampled results; including the quantities of water and the quality of the water that must be diverted or treated during mining operations;
- the capacities and durability of various machinery and equipment;
- the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices and within the estimated delivery times;
- currency exchange rates;
- Super Greensand® and K Forte® sales prices, market size and exchange rate assumed;
- appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in the economic analysis;
- tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation;
- the availability of acceptable financing under assumed structure and costs;
- anticipated mining losses and dilution;
- reasonable contingency requirements;
- success in realizing proposed operations;
- receipt of permits and other regulatory approvals on acceptable terms; and
- the fulfilment of environmental assessment commitments and arrangements with local communities.
Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are made assuming the correctness of other forward looking statements, such as statements of net present value and internal rates of return, which are based on most of the other forward-looking statements and assumptions herein. The cost information is also prepared using current values, but the time for incurring the costs will be in the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable over the relevant period.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur as forecast, but specifically include, without limitation: risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the material identified as Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; the geotechnical characteristics of the rock mined or through which infrastructure is built differing from that predicted, the quantity of water that will need to be diverted or treated during mining operations being different from what is expected to be encountered during mining operations or post closure, or the rate of flow of the water being different; developments in world metals markets; risks relating to fluctuations in the Brazilian Real relative to the Canadian dollar; increases in the estimated capital and operating costs or unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work force; increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms of available financing, if any; tax rates or royalties being greater than assumed; changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks relating to receipt of regulatory approvals; delays in stakeholder negotiations; changes in regulations applying to the development, operation, and closure of mining operations from what currently exists; the effects of competition in the markets in which Verde operates; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Verde's Annual Information Form filed with SEDAR in
When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Verde, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Verde does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Verde or on our behalf, except as required by law.
For additional information please contact:
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.verde.ag | www.investor.verde.ag
__________________________________
1 Please see the “RenovaCalc” section for further information on the calculation assumptions.
2 Considers K Forte®’s “cradle-to-gate” emissions, in accordance with RenovaCalc’s parameters. RenovaCalc’s standardized lifecycle emission factors encompass all emissions from the extraction of raw materials through to the completion of production, not including shipping emissions. For biofuel distribution and usage, RenovaCalc relies on official and sectoral statistics and a tool for estimating greenhouse gases for intersectoral sources. With these inputs, RenovaCalc calculates the Environmental Efficiency Score (“EES”) of produced biofuels. Please see the “RenovaCalc” section for further information on the calculation assumptions.
3 For K Forte®, containing 10% K2O, a tenfold increase in application is considered to match the mass equivalent of K2O used in KCl, achieving equivalence to 1 kg of K2O.
4 Assumptions: 31.193 million liters of ethanol produced per year (Source: Sugarcane and Bioenergy Observatory – UNICAdata). Dosages of 100 and 200 kg of K2O per hectare, respectively, for corn and sugarcane. Assuming the average yield of 4,025 liters per hectare for corn and 8,100 liters per hectare for sugarcane. K Forte (10% K2O) and KCl (60% K2O).
5 BRENTRUP, F.; HOXHA, A.; CHRISTENSEN,
6 To meet the obligations assumed by
7 Sources: a) ANP (2018). RenovaBio – Strategic Guidelines – Proposal submitted for public consultation.
b) ANP (2018). RenovaBio – Next Steps in Regulation. 40th Ordinary Meeting of the Sugar and Alcohol Production Chain Sectoral Chamber.
c)
d) Embrapa (2018). Technical Note – RenovaCalcMD: Method and Tool for Accounting the Carbon Intensity of Biofuels in the RenovaBio Program.
8 Although there is no restriction on the type of buyer eligible to purchase CBIOs, it should be noted that, according to Brazilian Law No. 13,576, it is mandatory for fossil fuel distribution companies to buy CBIOs to meet their decarbonization targets.
9 Assumptions: 31.193 million liters of ethanol produced per year (Source: Data from the Sugarcane and
10 CBIOs average price from
11
12 Standard profile for biofuel production: an option in RenovaCalc for biofuel producers or importers, which includes the technical parameters related to the production of energy biomass, pre-filled with data that reflects the average production profile in
13 Based on the average car emitting about 4.6 tons of CO2 annually.
14 Sources: https://www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/assuntos/sustentabilidade/planoabc-abcmais and https://www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/assuntos/sustentabilidade/planoabc-abcmais/abc/programas-e-estrategias
15 Source: https://unicadata.com.br/listagem.php?idMn=158
16 Source: Data report on the sugar energy sector in
17 Source:
![](https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/NmNkNDM4NmMtODJjMy00NGUzLWE4NjQtNmFkYTVjZDNmMjIxLTEwOTY5NTg=/tiny/Verde-AgriTech-Ltd.png)
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