NEW YORK – The global movement by governments and automakers to promote automotive electrification does not mean that ethanol will cease to be a product, according to an executive from one of the world’s leading automakers. The world’s largest producer of biofuel.
In addition to the need that will continue to exist in biofuel-producing countries and where EV adoption is considered slower, such as Brazil and India, there are industries that will need to use biofuels. to reduce emissions Paula Kovarsky, Chief Strategy Officer at Brazil’s Raízen SA, says electrification is not a viable option.
In an interview late Tuesday in New York, where she will attend climate conferences next week, Kovarsky said that so-called ‘hard to reduce’ sectors such as shipping and commercial aviation are strong targets for the future of biofuels. , as well as Electric Car can use fuel cells to convert ethanol to hydrogen to move the electric motor.
“I imagine that for automakers, in the same electric car model there will be the battery in Europe or the US, they can replace that for a fuel cell in Brazil or India and use ethanol,” she said.
Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen is one of the growing car manufacturers mixture technology that uses ethanol to produce hydrogen inside cars, the gas that will power electric motors.
Experts believe that makes sense for places like Brazil, which has an extensive ethanol distribution system. But since automakers plan to produce globally, there are doubts about whether they will produce cars for the needs of specific regions.
Kovarsky sees the potential for ethanol to be used in sustainable aviation fuels or as biofuels for boats, areas where batteries and electrification are difficult.
