President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed this Thursday (14/09), in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto, in Brasília, the Future Fuel Program Bill, which will be forwarded to the National Congress. The measure brings a set of initiatives to promote sustainable low-carbon mobility and will help Brazil achieve international targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
As a member of the Sustainable Social Economic Development Council and President of Be8, I spoke on behalf of the productive sector. This is a historic day for Brazil because the project (Fuel of the Future) is an umbrella for a series of energy transition initiatives. It maintains current public policies on current biofuels and creates the opportunity to introduce new biofuels into the national energy matrix and defines the carbon capture model. These initiatives will effectively transform Brazil into a bioenergy, agroenergy and biofuel production powerhouse.
In the case of biodiesel and first generation ethanol, Battistella explains that they have their own policies and are already in the energy matrix. President Lula drew attention to the importance of biodiesel in his speech. “I would like to thank the entrepreneurs a lot. I know some biodiesel plants have closed. If it’s up to me, we’ll get them all back. Alexandre (Silveira, Minister of Mines and Energy), perhaps we have to call the Council (National Energy Policy -CNPE) again and we, who knows, can increase it from 12 to 13 (%), from 12 to 14 , because it has been proven that it is possible for us to increase production. We don’t have to depend on someone saying that we can or can’t, it’s a decision by the Brazilian government with approval of the project by Congress so that Brazil can take care of its nose”, he said in his speech.
At the end of the speech, I gave President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Chamber President Arthur Lira samples of biodiesel, green diesel and aviation biokerosene.
Project highlights
FULL CYCLE – The proposal addresses several themes that converge towards the decarbonization of the transport energy matrix, the industrialization of the country and the increase in the energy efficiency of vehicles. The text proposes integration between the National Biofuels Policy (RenovaBio), the Rota 2030 Program – Mobility and Logistics and the Brazilian Vehicle Labeling Program (PBE Veicular).
The methodology to be adopted is the Assessment of the complete Life Cycle of the fuel (from the well to the wheel) to evaluate the emissions of the various energy sources used in transport modes, which includes the stages of energy generation, extraction, production and use of fuel. fuel. This integration aims to mitigate equivalent carbon dioxide emissions with better cost-benefit.
SUSTAINABLE AVIATION – The proposal also establishes the National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program (ProBioQAV), which aims to encourage the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Under the new policy, air operators are obliged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1% from 2027, reaching a 10% reduction in 2037. This reduction will be achieved by gradually increasing the mixture of SAF with fossil aviation kerosene.
GREEN DIESEL – The PL also creates the National Green Diesel Program (PNDV), which integrates the effort for the energy transition and to reduce external dependence on petroleum-derived diesel through the gradual incorporation of green diesel into the energy matrix fuels in the country.
ETHANOL UP TO 30% – Another important point is the increase in the maximum and minimum limits for mixing anhydrous ethanol with gasoline. The text changes the minimum content to 22% and establishes the maximum percentage at 30%, subject to verification of its technical feasibility. The use of higher percentages is part of the strategy to increase the octane rating of Brazilian fuel, inducing a new cycle of improvements to internal combustion engines. The measure is also relevant as ethanol contributes to reducing the price of gasoline for consumers.
SYNTHETIC FUELS – The proposal also defines the regulatory framework for synthetic fuels in Brazil, whose regulation will be assigned to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels – ANP. This type of fuel has been called “e-Fuel” around the world and is one of the initiatives that have been adopted to reduce emissions of polluting gases from fossil fuels, contributing to the better environmental performance of combustion engines in the context of energy transition, without the need to modify parts or components.
CARBON DIOXIDE – Another important contribution of the PL to the energy transition is the proposal for a regulatory framework for the exercise of carbon dioxide capture and geological storage activities, the regulation of which will also be attributed to the ANP. This will make it possible to capture greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and inject them into underground reservoirs.