prodchem
Aug 28, 2026
Braskem’s shift toward renewable feedstocks and biobased chemistry is continuing despite a major change in the company’s ownership and financial circumstances in 2026. The transition from Novonor control to a joint-control structure involving IG4 and Petrobras has changed Braskem’s governance, but it has not erased the company’s longer-term push into renewable carbon, biopolymers and bio-based chemicals.
In June 2026, IG4’s Shine Fund acquired 50.11% of Braskem’s voting shares previously held by Novonor, while Petrobras retained its significant stake. Under the new shareholders’ agreement, IG4 and Petrobras became joint controlling parties.
The change came as Braskem faced substantial financial pressure, but the company has continued developing technologies that connect petrochemicals with renewable agricultural feedstocks.
That connection is particularly important because Braskem’s renewable chemistry model depends on materials such as sugarcane ethanol and, increasingly, corn ethanol—linking chemical manufacturing with agricultural supply chains.
The ownership transition represents a significant change for Brazil’s largest petrochemical company.
Before the transaction, Novonor was Braskem’s controlling shareholder. On June 3, 2026, the transfer of shares to Shine Fund was completed, ending Novonor’s control. Shine Fund acquired 50.11% of the common shares, while Petrobras held 47.03% of Braskem’s voting shares.
The new structure established joint control between IG4 and Petrobras.
Braskem described the arrangement as combining IG4’s experience in restructuring complex assets with Petrobras’ technical and industrial expertise in Brazil’s petrochemical sector.
The shift is taking place during a difficult period for the petrochemical industry, with weak margins, high debt and restructuring pressures affecting Braskem.
Yet its renewable-chemistry activities remain strategically relevant.
Braskem's biobased strategy is closely connected to agriculture even though the company itself is a petrochemical producer.
Its flagship I'm green™ bio-based polyethylene is produced using ethanol derived from sugarcane.
The company does not own the sugarcane plantations supplying this feedstock. Instead, it purchases ethanol from suppliers selected under its Responsible Ethanol Purchasing Program. Braskem says the program evaluates environmental, legal, social and human-rights considerations within the supply chain.
This creates a direct connection between:
Agricultural production → Ethanol → Bio-based ethylene → Polyethylene → Downstream products
The model allows Braskem to replace fossil-based feedstock with renewable carbon while retaining conventional polymer-processing infrastructure.
Braskem began producing polyethylene from sugarcane ethanol in 2010.
Since then, its portfolio has expanded beyond bio-based polyethylene to include EVA and polyethylene wax. Braskem currently reports production capacity of 275,000 tons per year of green ethylene and has set an ambition to increase sales of its I'm green™ bio-based products toward 1 million tons by 2030.
The scale matters because Braskem is no longer treating biobased chemistry as a laboratory experiment.
It has become an industrial business with global customers and applications.
Braskem says its bio-based polyethylene is now used by companies and brands in more than 40 countries.
Braskem's relationship with agriculture extends beyond sourcing renewable ethanol.
The company identifies agribusiness as an important market for its chemical and polymer products.
Its agricultural portfolio includes polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC solutions used in areas such as protected cultivation, irrigation, storage and agricultural infrastructure. Its solvents also have applications in pesticides, vegetable-oil extraction and alcohol dehydration.
This creates a two-way relationship between Braskem and agriculture.
Agriculture can supply renewable raw materials for chemical production, while Braskem's materials can support agricultural production and processing.
That makes the company's biobased strategy broader than simply replacing petroleum with sugarcane.
One of the most recent developments demonstrates how Braskem is broadening its renewable-chemicals strategy.
In August 2026, Braskem announced a partnership with Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) to develop technology for producing bioacetone from corn ethanol.
The process is designed to allow ethanol plants to generate bioacetone as a higher-value coproduct without compromising fuel production efficiency. Braskem is contributing proprietary separation technology, while LBDS contributes expertise in yeast and fermentation technologies.
This is strategically significant because it moves Braskem further into renewable specialty chemicals, rather than limiting its biobased ambitions to polymers.
The concept can also create additional value from agricultural commodities.
Instead of treating ethanol only as a fuel product, chemical producers can potentially use the same agricultural-derived molecule as a platform for higher-value chemical production.
Acetone is widely used as a solvent and chemical intermediate.
Developing a bio-based version could allow downstream manufacturers to reduce the fossil-carbon intensity of products that currently depend on conventional petrochemical feedstocks.
Braskem's partnership with LBDS is still at the technology-development stage, so it would be premature to treat bioacetone as an established commercial product.
However, the project illustrates the direction of Braskem's strategy: convert renewable agricultural feedstocks into increasingly diverse chemical building blocks.
That represents a more ambitious proposition than simply marketing bio-based plastics.
Braskem has also invested in research infrastructure designed to expand its renewable chemistry capabilities.
The company completed a renewable innovation center in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 2024 following an investment of approximately $20 million.
The center focuses on early-stage research into converting biomass-derived feedstocks—including sugars, ethanol, vegetable oils, lignin and cellulose—into sustainable chemicals and materials.
This is important because the company's long-term renewable strategy depends on discovering feedstocks and chemical pathways beyond its existing sugarcane-based polyethylene business.
The research platform therefore gives Braskem a way to investigate multiple routes into renewable chemistry.
The bioacetone announcement also builds on a broader relationship between Braskem and Lallemand.
The companies have been working together on renewable chemicals, with the partnership initially exploring bio-based alternatives in the solvents segment.
This suggests that bioacetone is part of a larger technology-development strategy.
Braskem can potentially combine biological production methods from its partners with its own chemical processing and separation expertise.
That hybrid model may become increasingly important as chemical companies look for commercially viable ways to move from agricultural feedstocks to specialty chemicals.
The biggest question surrounding Braskem in 2026 is whether its financial restructuring and new ownership structure will alter investment priorities.
The company is under considerable financial pressure. In August, Braskem filed for an out-of-court restructuring process covering approximately $10.9 billion of debt, while Braskem Idesa in Mexico separately pursued Chapter 11 proceedings.
That environment could encourage management to prioritize liquidity, debt reduction and core operations.
However, renewable chemistry remains connected to Braskem's longer-term competitiveness.
The company has continued to publicize investments and partnerships in renewable products during the ownership transition, including the bioacetone project announced in August.
The implication is not that every planned renewable project will necessarily proceed at the same pace.
Rather, the technology direction itself appears to remain part of Braskem's strategic identity.
The new ownership structure also brings Petrobras into a more active governance role.
Petrobras maintains 36.15% of Braskem's total share capital and 47.03% of its voting share capital, while Shine Fund holds 50.11% of voting shares.
This relationship could matter for renewable feedstocks and industrial integration.
Petrobras has extensive expertise in energy, fuels and industrial feedstocks, while Braskem operates at the interface between hydrocarbons, chemicals and renewable materials.
The companies have already worked together on industrial tests involving renewable-content feedstocks, demonstrating that the relationship can extend beyond traditional petrochemical supply.
Whether the new ownership structure results in a larger renewable-chemistry strategy remains to be seen.
Braskem's renewable ambitions must now be considered alongside its financial constraints.
The company has recently faced weak petrochemical economics, high leverage and difficulties surrounding its Mexican operations. Its August restructuring process is intended to address its financial obligations rather than fundamentally change its relationships with customers and suppliers.
This creates a tension between long-term technology investment and short-term financial discipline.
Renewable chemistry projects can require substantial capital and may take years to generate meaningful returns.
For the new owners, the key question will be which projects can generate competitive returns while also strengthening Braskem's position in markets increasingly demanding lower-carbon materials.
The agricultural connection gives Braskem a potentially valuable advantage in the renewable-carbon economy.
Sugarcane and corn are not simply feedstocks for food or fuel. They can also become starting points for chemical production.
Braskem's existing model demonstrates this pathway:
Sugarcane → Ethanol → Ethylene → Bio-based polyethylene
Its newer work points toward additional pathways:
Corn → Ethanol → Bioacetone → Renewable chemical applications
And future research could potentially explore:
Biomass → Sugars / oils / lignin / cellulose → Chemical building blocks → Sustainable materials
The more pathways Braskem develops, the less its renewable strategy depends on a single product.
Braskem's renewable portfolio is also being supported by increasing emphasis on carbon accounting and certification.
Updated life-cycle assessments released in 2025 for its I'm green™ bio-based portfolio covered products including HDPE, EVA and polyethylene wax and evaluated their environmental impacts under international LCA standards.
In April 2026, Braskem said its I'm green™ portfolio was positioned to become among the first chemical products covered by Brazil's new Verde Brasil sustainability-label framework for renewable polymers.
Such certification could become increasingly important as customers seek measurable evidence of lower-carbon feedstocks rather than relying solely on sustainability claims.
The change in ownership creates both uncertainty and potential opportunity.
IG4 brings restructuring expertise, while Petrobras brings industrial and feedstock capabilities. Braskem's existing renewable platform provides another strategic dimension.
The challenge will be integrating these priorities.
If the new ownership structure focuses primarily on financial stabilization, some long-term innovation programs could face tighter capital scrutiny.
But if renewable chemistry is viewed as part of Braskem's path toward higher-value and differentiated products, the portfolio could receive continued support.
The August bioacetone project suggests that renewable chemistry remains active even during the transition.
Braskem's move into renewable chemistry has survived a major change in ownership because it is increasingly embedded in the company's broader technology and product strategy.
The June 2026 transition from Novonor control to joint control by IG4 and Petrobras changed Braskem's governance, but the company has continued to advance renewable-carbon initiatives.
Its agricultural connection is particularly important.
Sugarcane ethanol already supports Braskem's industrial-scale I'm green™ bio-based polyethylene portfolio, while new research and partnerships are expanding the potential feedstock base and chemical product range. The latest bioacetone project with Lallemand demonstrates how the company is attempting to move from renewable polymers toward a broader renewable-chemicals platform.
The ownership transition therefore does not eliminate Braskem's biobased ambitions. Instead, it places them under a new strategic test.
The question now is whether IG4 and Petrobras can stabilize Braskem financially while preserving the investments needed to turn agricultural feedstocks into commercially competitive chemicals and materials.
If they can, Braskem's renewable business could become more than a sustainability initiative—it could become an important part of the company's post-restructuring competitive identity.
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