Minister Silveira highlights creation of Brazilian investment fund for SAF, marine biofuel

Photo: Tauan Alencar, Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy

Brazil’s minister of mines and energy, Alexandre Silveira, highlighted Aug. 22 the opening of a public call that should make $6 billion Brazilian reals (USD$1.09 billion) available for investments in green fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and marine biofuel.

The fund is another incentive that integrates the policies of the federal government through its Fuel of the Future program.

“The Fuel of the Future underpinned these decarbonization policies, creating a mandate for green diesel, for SAF, increasing the share of biodiesel in fossil-diesel blends, increasing the share of ethanol in gasoline blends, and creating carbon capture and storage,” Silveira said. “The participation of [the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)] in fostering the SAF industry in Brazil is essential for us to strengthen the new economy, the green economy. These are integrated government policies for decarbonization and energy transition, taking advantage of this window of opportunity.”

The initiative, announced in partnership between BNDES and the Brazilian Studies and Projects Financing Agency (Finep), will boost the development of biorefineries and innovative technologies that promote the decarbonization of the air- and maritime-transportation sectors in Brazil.

The public call will encourage the participation of Brazilian companies in the biofuels sector, allowing them to present business plans with credit of more than $20 million Brazilian reals (USD$3.6 million).

The selected projects will be able to use the resources for various activities, such as research and technological development, plant structuring and equipment acquisition, in addition to working capital.

Companies that market the final products resulting from these technologies are also included.

Interested parties have until Oct. 31 to register their projects.

The evaluation will be carried out by a specific working group led by BNDES and Finep with the participation of representatives from the ministry of mines and energy and other ministries, regulatory agencies and institutions linked to the topic.

The production of SAF is one of the highlights of the Fuel of the Future Bill (PL 528/2020), currently under consideration in Brazil’s Senate, which aims among other initiatives to establish the National Aviation Biokerosene Program (ProBioQAV).

The proposal helps to mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions and, consequently, contributes to the national energy transition through the greater use of biofuels in a sector in which emissions are difficult to reduce.