The law establishing the National Program for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ProbioQAV), passed by President Lula in October, is the way to put Brazil at the forefront of global production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The development of biofuels in Brazil is due, first and foremost, to a history of policies developed to favor the sector. In addition to Proálcool, we had the National Program for the Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB), which aimed to develop studies for the inclusion of biodiesel in the national energy matrix and which culminated in the adoption of Law No. 11097/2005. Likewise, today we have Law No. 14993/2024, which includes the Sudanese Armed Forces in the national energy matrix.
Furthermore, the SAF will benefit from what Brazil has to offer in the field of biofuels, and I list a few reasons here:
First, experiment with biofuel production. Beginning in the 1930s, the government of Getúlio Vargas passed Law No. 737, which limited the addition of 5% ethanol to gasoline, with the aim of increasing Brazil’s energy security. This action paved the way for the development of biofuels, giving rise to the National Alcohol Program (Proálcool) in the 1970s and 1980s and the era of flexible cars in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
According to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), Brazil currently has 415 plants producing biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), which broke records in 2023 with a production of 43 billion liters, making Brazil the second largest producer and exporter in the world, in addition. To contribute significantly to reducing carbon dioxide in the energy matrix.
The country has an extensive biomass base. Today, there are nine approved routes for SAF production, and Brazil has the capacity to meet all of them. The most common are hydrolyzed fatty acid esterification (HEFA), which is based on vegetable oils, animal fats and used cooking oil, and alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), which uses corn and sugarcane as the main energy sources.
Sugarcane produces first and second generation ethanol, E1G and E2G. In the HEFA route, vegetable oils come from several sources that are already widely produced in Brazil, such as palm oil and soybean oil.
Other raw materials, such as macauba and canola, are also being developed. Mkuba has the ability to produce four to six times more oil than soybeans and tends to be more sustainable, as it can be grown on degraded land and does not compete with food production.
Brazil has the potential to lead the transition from alternative fuels to aviation. A recent study by Embrapa shows that there are 100 million hectares of degraded land in the country – an area the size of many European countries – that could be used for agricultural expansion. Furthermore, there are ongoing projects in Brazil to build new biorefineries to produce SAF.
Last but not least, we have the technological knowledge. In general, Brazilian farmers have already mastered the use of technology in production. A survey conducted by the consortium of Embrapa, Sebrae and INPE in 2020 showed that 84% of Brazilian farmers are already using at least one digital technology to increase productivity, reduce costs and reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Aviation, which is a difficult to decarbonise (hard to slaughter) industry, operates on a very complex infrastructure and with high value-added products, employs and connects millions of people around the world and is responsible for 2.5% of global GDP. Carbon dioxide emissions. Although this number is considered low compared to other sectors, it is committed to promoting decarbonization. In 2021, IATA member airlines accepted the “Fly Net Zero by 2050” commitment, agreeing to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
The agreement linked the aviation sector to the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as set out in the COP21 agreement in Paris in 2015. In 2022, at the 41st meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the ambitious long-term plan was set. Targets (LTAG) have been set, which aim to align member states with zero carbon targets by 2050.
SAF represents 65% of the solution to achieving the net-zero emissions target by 2050, but other forms of investment are needed, such as the introduction of new technologies and energy sources – particularly hydrogen and renewable electricity – investments in infrastructure, improvements in operational efficiency and carbon capture offsets.
Technological development has always gone hand in hand with the development of aviation. A lot has been invested over the years to modernize this sector. Modern planes carry more passengers, use less fuel, and have greater range than planes of the same size in the 1970s and 1980s, and this development was necessary to make them safer and more efficient. The goal now is to decarbonize aviation as much as possible.
We realize that there are many challenges, one of which is the cost of SAF, which can be two to six times higher than the cost of fossil fuels, while other mechanisms such as reservation, claim and taxation need to be further developed. Careful scrutiny of the supply chain is essential to ensure sustainable SAF production.
SAF can reduce emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional fuels. Currently, all Airbus aircraft can fly at up to 50% SAF. By 2030, they must be 100% SAF certified to fly. We perform flight tests in all segments, from commercial aircraft to helicopters and military aircraft.
In addition, Airbus is increasing the use of SAF in its own operations, with a goal of reaching 15% SAF in our global fuel mix by the end of 2024 and at least 30% by 2030. By 2023, Airbus has More than 11 million liters for the Sudanese Armed Forces in its operations.
The Sudanese Air Force is part of this journey, but more action is needed to achieve the goal of net zero by 2050. Airbus aims to bring the first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft to the market by 2035. Airbus’s ZEROe project explores the appropriate technology brick, In addition to the production and supply ecosystem.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global production capacity of 450 billion liters of SAF will be needed by 2050 to achieve the zero emissions target. In addition to the necessary investments, policies need to be implemented around the world. To stimulate demand and increase production, we have developed some strategic partnerships. An example of this is Airbus’s participation in the SAFFA (Sustainable Aviation Fuel Finance Alliance) Fund, announced in July, which aims to finance projects to accelerate SAF production.
In addition, we are conducting a study in collaboration with LATAM and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to build a comprehensive analysis of scenarios and price and demand forecasts with the implementation of SAF until 2050, in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Italy. Peru.
*Gilberto Peralta – President of Airbus Brazil – Article originally published in Opinião magazine
