Diplomats Call for More US-Brazil Biofuels Cooperation

Diplomats meeting at the Ethanol Summit in Brazil called today for greater cooperation between Brazil and the U.S. in biofuel technology research. “Without a strong partnership in technology research we won’t be able to advance in the development of new generations of biofuels,” said André Amado, Under Secretary for Energy Policy at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry. Amado said that Brazil leads in first-generation fuel ethanol production, but that in the case of second and third generations the U.S. invests far more. “It’s in Brazil’s strategic interests for the partnership with the U.S. to advance,” he said.

U.S. ambassador to Brazil Clifford Sobel said recently that there are some differences between the two countries in terms of biofuels but that the objective is cooperation. He also said the U.S. plans to consume 36 billion gallons annually by 2022. At the moment U.S. production is only 9 billion gallons, which creates the possibility for imports of ethanol, which could be from Brazil, he said.

The two countries signed a memorandum of intent in March 2007. Amado said that while in Brazil around 85% research is linked to the government, in the U.S. over 50% is backed by the private sector, which means more money.Amado said the U.S. and Brazil are also cooperating in the creation of new biofuel producers. “We’re prospecting countries that would be able to produce biofuels,” he said. The initial priority was to survey countries in Central America and the Caribbean.