Company signed partnership with Senai Cimatec for program that uses the plant as a source for ethanol, biogas and other products

Shell signed on Thursday, 13, a partnership with Senai Cimatec to start the second phase of the agave development program in Brazil (Brave). The initiative intends to use the plant that serves as raw material for the production of tequila as a source of biomass for the production of ethanol, biogas and other products in the northeastern hinterland.

The signing took place in Conceição do Coité, a municipality in Bahia that produces sisal, a natural fiber produced from agave. According to the oil company, pilot plants will be built to validate the scaling of the processes within the Senai Cimatec Park, in Salvador.

"The new stage of Brave foresees the development of mechanization technologies for planting and harvesting (Brave Mec) and processing of different agave species (Brave Ind). Both fronts of action will run simultaneously, over five years," Shell said in a statement.

Thus, Brave Mec will generate technological solutions for processes that today are performed manually or using low-tech implements, while Brave Ind plans to develop the agave processing route to obtain first and second generation ethanol, biogas, as well as co-products.

With an investment of approximately R$ 100 million, Brave is financed by Shell Brasil with resources from the research, development and innovation clause of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). In the first phase of development research, Shell had a partnership with Unicamp, and also has the support of the Brazilian Company for Research and Industrial Innovation (Embrapii).

"Within Shell's 'Driving Progress' strategy we have four pillars: generating shareholder value, boosting lives, respecting nature and net-zero carbon emissions, and Brave is able to deliver results across all pillars. It's a really differentiated, innovative and transformational project," said Alexandre Breda, manager of low-carbon technology at Shell Brazil.

Currently, Shell Brasil invests about R$ 600 million in research and development projects in the country, with 30% of this money destined to initiatives for the energy transition, such as the Brave program, the company said.

"Our intention is to use 100% of the potential of agave, not only the sisal fiber, to obtain first and second generation ethanol, aiming at the implementation of a new business chain," explains the executive manager of Senai Cimatec, André Oliveira.