With the Fuel of the Future law, around 1.6 billion liters of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) must be produced in Brazil from 2027.
The estimate is from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and companies that are preparing to sell the fuel in the country.
Currently, there is no production of sustainable aviation fuel on a commercial scale by any Brazilian company. Aiming to serve the national and international market, companies invest in the construction of SAF plants in Brazil.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the . There are four companies betting on sustainable aviation fuel in the country:
- Acelen (macaúba): 1 billion liters per year;
- Raízen (ethanol): undisclosed estimates;
- Petrobras (soy): 314.8 thousand liters per year;
- BBF (palm): 250 thousand liters per year.
Air operators will be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on domestic flights through the use of sustainable aviation fuel from 2027. The targets start with a 1% reduction and gradually increase until reaching 10% in 2037.
The assessment of the airlines Azul and Gol is that a single fuel company will not be able to supply Brazilian demand for SAF alone in 2027.
For this reason, it is estimated that it will be necessary to purchase fuel from different sources to comply with the legislation.
Latam considers it necessary to consider the adoption of alternative means for decarbonizing the airline sector, given the initial stage of development of SAF production in Latin America.
According to Latam Brasil’s Sustainability and Social Impact Manager, Raquel Argentino, the airline wants to incorporate 5% sustainable aviation fuel into its operations by 2030, giving preference to production from South America.
“Currently, the quantity of SAF in the world is limited and its cost is high. In South America, access to this fuel represents one of the main challenges for the decarbonization of the industry”, Raquel told CNN.
Gol’s CCO director, Eduardo Calderon, says that the company must comply with the law strictly, reducing its emissions by 1% from 2027.
One of the strategies to reduce emissions already announced by the company is Book & Claim, a system in which the company buys carbon credits from other airlines. Calderon emphasizes, however, that Book & Claim does not replace the purchase of SAF.
“We talk to everyone, but we are not closing any supply contracts, for now, because we just had the law approved. In the coming months and years, we will go through the regulatory process. We think it is extremely premature to conclude any type of contract”, said the Gol executive to CNN.
Azul does not rule out importing the product if there is not sufficient production of sustainable aviation fuel in Brazil.
The company estimates that it will use around 25 million liters of SAF in its fleet in 2027, with proportional growth of 25 million in subsequent years, according to the airline’s Sustainability Manager, Filipe Alvarez.
“There will not be a single-source SAF for all Brazilian companies from 2027 onwards, so all three [companhias aéreas brasileiras] they will need to create a portfolio. […] It will depend on the maturity of the projects at the time for us to choose”, he told CNN.
Azul informed that it has already signed a partnership with Raízen for the development of SAF. According to Filipe Alvarez, the airline is also in contact with Acelen.
Production in Brazil
Raízen — which is developing sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol — has not yet released its SAF production projections.
According to Raízen’s vice-president of Trading, Paulo Côrte-Real Neves, the demand for purchase intention for SAF by airlines in the world is greater than the world’s production capacity.
“It is very clear these days that the world needs every possible solution. We will need ethanol as an alternative, just as we will need other sources”, he told CNN.
In the executive’s assessment, the future fuel law sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is an important step towards promoting SAF production in Brazil. Despite this, the company believes that legislation is necessary that allows for tax incentives and a favorable regulatory environment.
“It is a very big opportunity for Brazil to be a reference not only to meet our local goals, but also to supply these solutions to the rest of the world”, stated Paulo Côrte-Real Neves.
Raízen’s vice president of Trading said that the company has not yet defined its commercial positioning in relation to the possibility of exporting SAF, but highlighted that the company will be able to serve airline operators in Brazil from 2027.
To produce 1 billion liters of SAF, for example, 1.7 billion liters of ethanol are needed, according to company estimates.
On the other hand, Acelen is investing in the production of SAF in a biorefinery in São Francisco do Conde (SAF), aiming at the logistics of exporting the product from the Madre de Deus Terminal (Temadre).
According to the CEO of Acelen, SAF’s biggest challenge is having enough raw materials to meet demand in 2027. The company estimates producing 1 billion SAF in 2027. To achieve this, 1 million tons of vegetable oil are needed.
Although the company is investing in macaúba, Acelen expects that the plant’s oil will only supply the production chain from 2028 onwards. Until then, the biorefinery must be supplied with other vegetable oils.
“To plant [de SAF] is flexible. We are focusing on macaúba because it has the lowest carbon index of all renewable fuels, precisely because this side of it can be cultivated on degraded land”, Luiz de Mendonça told CNN.
Acelen plans to cultivate 180 thousand hectares of macaúba in Minas Gerais and Bahia to supply its biorefinery. Of this total, 20% will come from partnerships with small family farming producers. The company plans to plant in degraded areas.
“It’s not just Brazil that is placing mandates. All countries are putting in place mandates. It’s going to be a race. The growth limitation lies in the raw material. It’s not a market problem. The market is huge and will be asking for the product. The challenge will be how quickly we will develop solutions to meet this demand”, said the CEO.
According to Luiz de Mendonça, Acelen is already negotiating with distributors, trading companies and airlines to sell SAF.
“As part of the financial and financing package that we are putting together, we are already negotiating long-term contracts with several clients,” he said.
In October, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) approved financing of R$257.9 million for Acelen to implement a technological innovation center, Acelen Agripark, for the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
Petrobras
Petrobras’ BioRefino Program foresees investments of US$1.5 billion in refineries to develop more efficient and sustainable fuels, with lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to SAF produced from soybean oil, the company is also investing in sustainable fuel made from beef tallow.
The federal government’s expectation is that emissions of 17.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent will be avoided between 2027 and 2037, considering the goals stipulated by the National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Program (ProBioQAV).
