Brazil en route to becoming a global clean powerhouse
Brazil has all it takes to become a global clean energy powerhouse. More »
Brazil to finance cellulosic ethanol
Sergio Abranches
Brazilian state-owned financial institutions will finance research and development of cellulosic ethanol, reports the Brazilian daily newspaper Valor Econômico. More »
The trouble with Brazilian ethanol
Sergio Abranches
For the third consecutive year Brazilian sugarcane harvests will be affected by adverse climatic factors. The latest estimates from the producers’ association, UNICA, is that it will be 8.4% smaller for the season 2011-2012. Over the last three years demand for sugar has been very strong and prices even higher than ethanol’s. As a result, producers have been calibrating their production mix to yield more sugar than alcohol. More »
Are flex fuel engines an obstacle to low carbon mobility in Brazil?
Sergio Abranches
Brazil has been championing biofuels and “flex fuel” engines for some time and for good reasons. Flex fuel engines run on any possible combination of ethanol and gasoline. Since all gasoline in Brazil has 25% of ethanol, flex fuel engines can run on any mix of ethanol and gasoline, beginning at 25% to 75%, up to 100% ethanol. More »
Brazil drops incentives to electric cars
Sergio Abranches
After a few days of internal squabbling president Lula decided to drop a proposal from the Ministers of Finance and Science & Technology to launch a program to incentivize domestic production of electric cars.