The Brazilian government has announced an increase in its biodiesel blending mandate to B15 (15% biodiesel) from the current B14 effective from 1 August, Biodiesel Magazine reported.
Announced on 25 June by Brazil’s National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), a division of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the increased blending mandate aimed to boost domestic biofuel production, the 26 June report said.
The transition to B15 was expected to generate more than BRL$5bn (US$900M) in investments in new soyabean mills and crushing units, while creating more than 4,000 jobs, Biodiesel Magazine wrote.
CNPE was looking into the feasibility of raising biodiesel blends to a 13%-25% range, Mines and Energy Ministry's biofuels department director Marlon Arraes was quoted as saying in a 25 June Argus Media report.
The government also announced an increase in the blending mandate of ethanol in gasoline from 27% to 30% in a bid to eliminate gasoline imports while reducing emissions and fuel prices.
Despite the increased mandates, cost competitiveness, feedstock supply risks and regulatory instability remained hurdles to a wider biofuel framework in Brazil, Arraes told delegates at Argus’ Biofuels & Feedstocks Latin America Conference, in São Paulo, Brazil.
