Petrobras and Raízen have signed an agreement to jointly evaluate potential businesses involving the production, purchase and sale of biomethane, a 100% renewable fuel produced by Raízen from sugarcane waste (vinasse and filter cake), generated in the agro-industrial operations of the company's Energy Bioparks.

The partnership also foresees studies for the development of logistics solutions for the delivery of biomethane, to enable its use in Petrobras' refining operations. With characteristics similar to natural gas, the product is part of a new generation of sustainable fuels (such as R5 diesel, with renewable content, and Bio Jet Fuel), in line with Petrobras' decarbonization strategy and the development of new business opportunities with lower carbon intensity.

"This project is an opportunity to connect the production of renewable biomethane with the production of high-quality fuels and refinery products that will thus be obtained with lower carbon emissions. The initiative reinforces our commitment to seek economic and sustainable opportunities that combine value generation and low carbon, offering better quality and environmentally efficient products", said Petrobras CEO José Mauro Coelho.

A substitute for natural gas, diesel or LPG, biomethane has the potential to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90% by replacing fossil fuels. For Raízen, the production of biomethane expands the company's portfolio of renewable solutions, ensuring economy and sustainability for its customers. "We are one of the pioneers in the use of residues from industrial processes to produce renewable energy on a commercial scale, applying the circular economy model in our 35 bioenergy plants. We believe in the potential of sugarcane to generate numerous energy solutions and the production of biomethane is an important step towards accelerating the energy transition in the country", explained Ricardo Mussa (photo), CEO of Raízen.

Biomethane is the name given to the renewable fuel produced from the purification of biogas, a process that eliminates the high carbon content of the compound and originates a fuel similar to natural gas. The biogas is produced from residual organic material (vinasse and sugarcane filter cake) from the process of growing and processing sugarcane.

"This is a 100% renewable source, with the potential to reduce carbon emissions and increase national energy security. Still in the initial phase of studies with Raizen, our goal is to identify the best economic opportunities to develop this new front of decarbonization of our activities", concluded Coelho.

"Biomethane has a high potential for decarbonization and the possibility of use in various sectors of the economy. With investments in innovation and technology, we can extract the maximum from sugarcane biomass, increasing the sustainable potential of our chain and driving the reduction of CO2 emissions of our partners", said Mussa.