INNOVATION

When considering transport decarbonization, the shipping industry plays a pivotal role, as it is responsible for around 80% of global goods transportation, contributing to the emission of approximately 940 million tons of carbon annually, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In response to this, the IMO has set an ambitious target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050. Within this framework, bioethanol also stands out as a promising, cost-effective, and widely available alternative fuel that could significantly aid the sector in achieving its decarbonization goals. When used as a marine fuel, ethanol can reduce CO2 emissions by 76% (from well-to-wake), SOx emissions by 95%, and NOx emissions by 40%. By investing in vessel retrofitting technologies and implementing supportive public policies—such as blending mandates, decarbonization targets, and international standards for evaluating biofuel production and lifecycle assessments —ethanol has the potential to foster a more sustainable and environmentally friendly shipping industry.

Having a strong biofuel supply chain guarantees sustainability of the transport matrix, offering consumers options such as the already marketed and affordable hybrid flex-fuel vehicles. In addition, new fuel cell vehicles that run on hydrogen extracted from liquid fuels will soon be on the market. The fuel-cell has a reformer that extracts hydrogen from biofuel, without generating GHG and other pollutants. The benefit of this type of vehicle is that it dispenses the large set of batteries. Electricity is generated in the car itself: a chemical reaction turns the hydrogen stored in the tank into electrical energy. Thus, the car is cheaper (the battery represents up to 40% of the cost of a vehicle), more sustainable (there is no complication related to the production and disposal of batteries) and the long delay of recharging is eliminated (just fill the tank with a liquid fuel as is done today).

While first generation ethanol is made from the sucrose found in sugarcane juice and molasses, second generation ethanol, also known as cellulosic ethanol, is produced from fibers, or leftover sugarcane material. With new tecnologies, mills can increase biofuel production without increasing the land used for cultivation.