Haddad awaits approval of means for Ecological Transformation Plan

Ecological Plan

Electric car could be fueled with hydrogen from ethanol

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said today (23), in São Paulo, that the financial instruments for the federal government’s Ecological Transformation Plan should be approved by the National Congress by the end of the year.

The plan was presented by the minister in mid-August and aims to create a regulated carbon market, issue sustainable sovereign bonds and reformulate the climate fund to finance activities involving technological innovation and sustainability.

It also includes the creation of a national sustainable taxonomy, a set of standards to recognize sustainable projects or assets, and which can serve as a guide to guide public and private investments.

“We will complete the financial instruments of the Ecological Transformation Plan by the end of the year. O [projeto que regula o mercado de] carbon credit is already in the Senate. O [projeto] Fuel of the Future is already in the Chamber, and the issuance of the first sustainable sovereign bonds will be carried out in the coming weeks”,

said Haddad, on a visit to the University of São Paulo (USP).

Sustainable Taxonomy

The minister highlighted that the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy Action Plan – put up for public consultation on Thursday (21) – should come into operation in 2025.

“Yesterday, we made the taxonomy consultation public. And then there is the work of formulating and completing the work. [A taxonomia] it will be voluntary in 2025 and mandatory in 2026”, he stated.

Haddad was at USP to learn about the development of technology that will allow an electric car to be fueled with hydrogen extracted from ethanol. The program has the potential to practically eliminate carbon emissions throughout the entire supply chain and operation of the vehicle – which only produces water as waste.

“I came to see what seems to me to be the most advanced project in the area of ​​ecological transformation in Brazil, unless I am mistaken. USP is leading, with public-private partnerships and public agencies, cutting-edge research on the transformation of ethanol into hydrogen, which will practically eliminate pollution from motor vehicles,”

explained.

The project is especially strategic for Brazil because the country has ethanol in its network of vehicle fueling stations. The idea is that – at each station – equipment is installed, a mini plant the size of four common pumps, which would obtain hydrogen from ethanol – which would avoid the transport of hydrogen by tank trucks, something considered dangerous and expensive.

Molecule

The hydrogen-powered car has a cell that uses the molecule to produce electrical energy. As waste, water is produced. At USP, a Toyota car is already running with the technology.

“[Esse projeto] depends on more resources for research, something around R$500 million. Which seems like a small investment to me in light of what it will bring to humanity. I came here to make commitments to the university, to take the proposal to federal bodies for consideration, and I will with great enthusiasm defend that this project is supported”,

concluded the Minister of Finance.

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