Cop: Atvos mira potencial do Brasil para SAF

Market: Biofuels, Oil products
11/12/23

A produtora de açúcar e etanol Atvos se juntou a outras companhias brasileiras com o objetivo de migrar para o combustível de aviação sustentável (SAF, na sigla em inglês), de olho na política nacional que mira avançar nos combustíveis do futuro, disse o presidente da empresa, Bruno Serapião.

A Atvos, antigo braço sucroalcooleiro da Novonor, anteriormente Odebrecht, "quer ser um importante player futuro em combustíveis", disse Serapião nos bastidores da Cop 28, conferência climática realizada pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), em Dubai. A empresa deve tomar uma decisão final sobre o investimento em SAF em 2025, com a meta de iniciar a produção em 2028. Os níveis de investimento serão determinados em 2024, informou.

A Atvos espera investir R$1,6 bilhão até o fim da safra de 2023-2024 e outro R$1,5 bilhão por ciclo em cada uma das próximas duas temporadas, incluindo sua iniciativa em SAF e potencialmente em biometano, de acordo com a companhia. O SAF pode ser produzido a partir de uma variedade de matérias-primas, mas a Atvos usaria a tecnologia alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) para converter sua produção de etanol à base de cana-de-açúcar em combustível de aviação sustentável. A produtora também está explorando etanol de milho produzido com menor intensidade de carbono do que os métodos tradicionais.

O biometano, que pode abastecer veículos pesados, seria produzido a partir da vinhaça, subproduto da moagem da cana-de-açúcar, e abasteceria os caminhões da Atvos que transportam o insumo, seja por meio da compra de novos veículos ou da adaptação dos motores existentes.

Embora a Atvos não tenha fornecido um cronograma para seus planos, afirmou que as políticas e regulações pendentes na área impulsionarão seus objetivos.

Nas próximas semanas, os deputados podem aprovar na Câmara o Projeto de Lei Combustível do Futuro, texto que deve apoiar este progresso. O projeto deve seguir para o Senado no início de 2024 ou antes, declarou Evandro Gussi, presidente da União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar e Bioenergia (Unica).

Não posicionar o Brasil para aproveitar esta oportunidade repetiria o erro de cerca de 20 anos atrás, quando o país exportava soja para a China em vez de desenvolver suas próprias instalações de esmagamento, disse Serapião.

"Temos todas as partes da cadeia de valor de SAF", ele completou. "Mas precisamos da política em vigor."

O mercado também tem um longo caminho a percorrer, disse Julio Friedmann, cientista-chefe da empresa norte-americana de gestão de carbono Carbon Direct. Atualmente, apenas 0,1pc do fornecimento de combustível de aviação é sustentável e a maior parte é feita a partir de óleo de cozinha usado (UCO, na sigla em inglês), cujo fornecimento não deve crescer.

"Não há McDonald's suficientes no mundo", apontou Friedmann. Volumes comercialmente significativos de SAF poderão ficar de fora do mercado na próxima década e o modesto alvo de 3 bilhões de galões norte-americanos (USG) até 2030 não será alcançado. Mas o Brasil pode estar entre os países mais bem posicionados para avançar neste biocombustível, ele conclui.

Por Carla Bass

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