ComBio Energia: Renewable Biomass Steam as a Service for Industry

What ComBio actually does

ComBio Energia is a Brazilian company that sells renewable industrial steam as a service. It replaces gas- and oil-fired boilers at client plants with biomass boilers, then finances, builds and operates them, and manages licensing and the biomass supply chain. Contracts typically run 10 to 15 years, and the client only starts paying once the first tonne of steam has been delivered, so the industrial user decarbonizes its heat without carrying the upfront capital cost.

Its stated purpose is to be “protagonista na descarbonização do planeta” (a leading actor in decarbonizing the planet), with the mission of being the best and most innovative renewable thermal energy company for industry.

Where ComBio shows up

• Pulp, paper and packaging: Klabin
• Metals: CBA (Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio)
• Chemicals: Rhodia
• Food and beverage: Cervejaria Petrópolis
• Geographic reach: plants running from Barcarena (Pará) in the north to Balsa Nova (Paraná) in the south

Proof, not just claims

ComBio also reports burning more than 550,000 tonnes of biomass in 2023, around 65% of it agroforestry residues and byproducts, and diverting about 90% of boiler ash from landfill. It has been a certified B Corp since 2014.

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Why this belongs on a sustainability directory

Industrial heat is one of the hardest emissions sources to cut: most factories still burn natural gas or fuel oil for steam, and switching means a large capital project outside their core business. ComBio takes that project off the client’s balance sheet and runs it on residue-heavy biomass instead. That links it directly to SDG 13 (Climate Action) through millions of tonnes of avoided CO2, SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) through renewable thermal energy for industry, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) through residue-based fuel and ash reuse.