Brazil’s government approves creation of plan for sustainable and low-carbon fuels

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The government has approved the creation of a program to propose measures increasing the use of sustainable and low carbon intensity fuels in the country. The so-called “Fuel of the Future Program” was approved by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) in a meeting on Tuesday, April 20th.

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the program provides guidelines that include the inter-institutional coordination and the integration of public policies related to the automotive sector, including programs such as Renovabio, the National Program for Biodiesel Production and Use, and Rota 2030.

The goal is to encourage companies in the oil and gas sector to invest in research and development related to the program.

“The program will provide the increase in the use of sustainable and low carbon intensity fuels, encouraging the development of national vehicle technology, rendering our transportation matrix cleaner and more sustainable,” says the note released by the Ministry.

The government also highlighted the creation of measures to introduce aviation biokerosene in the transportation matrix. The studies should also include the maritime sector. “The Program will propose measures for the development of the entire legal and regulatory framework, nonexistent today, for carbon capture and storage technology.”

In addition, the CNPE approved the creation of the Fuel of the Future Technical Committee, which will be coordinated by the MME. The collegiate should propose methodologies for evaluating the complete life cycle of fuels and actions to provide citizens with information for vehicle selection regarding energy and environmental efficiency aspects.

Hydrogen

The government also determined the elaboration of guidelines for the National Hydrogen Program within 60 days. According to Tuesday’s CNPE decision, the work will be done in partnership with the ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation and Regional Development. The Energy Research Company (EPE) should also support the drawing of measures.

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the guidelines must foresee safety standards, regulatory designs and structure that allow competitiveness for the large-scale use of hydrogen.

The ministry also said it is necessary to develop the infrastructure for production, storage, transport and distribution of hydrogen, on the supply side, as well as for the insertion of the energy source in the consumption matrix in sectors such as transportation, steelmaking and fertilizers.

“In the technological aspect, there are numerous challenges to be overcome, although its production and use is already a reality in some niches. The storage of hydrogen is one of them, as it requires high pressures for storage in the gaseous state, or cryogenics for storage in the liquid state,” says the note.

Source: Infomoney