Brazilian President Lula da Silva signs law for Fuel of the Future green package

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Oct. 8 the long-awaited Fuel of the Future program into law, which promises to unlock investments worth Real 260 billion ($46.9 billion) and prevent the emissions of 705 million metric tons of CO2 by 2037.

The green package, also known as PL 528/2023, aims to expand the use of biofuels and establishes regulatory regimes for sustainable aviation fuel, biomethane, biorefining and carbon capture in Latin America's largest economy.

In practical terms, the program replaces previous initiatives, such as the RenovaBio program for biofuels, providing incentives for renewable energies and attracting investments to make biofuels competitive when compared with fossil fuels.

Two of the Fuel of the Future program's key initiatives will result in substantial changes to current fuel consumption patterns:

1. The anhydrous (pure) ethanol blend in gasoline will increase to a range of 22%-35%, up from 18%-27.5%. Consumers with flex-fuel vehicles can fill their tanks with the standalone biofuel E100 or gasoline, which currently has a blend of 27.5% anhydrous ethanol. Officials in Lula's administration have said the goal was to raise the anhydrous-gasoline blending mandate to 30% in the near future.
2. The biodiesel blend in diesel -- currently at 14% -- will increase by 1 percentage point annually from 2025 until it reaches 20% by 2030. Authorities will define annually the minimum percentage for blends with green diesel starting in 2027, which can reach up to 3% by 2037.