The Ministry of Mines and Energy’s testing program began in August 2026, evaluating blends from B16 through B20 in the first phase. Lorena Mendes, director of the Biofuels Department, outlined a completion timeline for February 2027, with final reports potentially enabling direct approval or triggering regulatory adjustments that could extend timelines to August 2027. The program mobilizes R$30 million from the National Science and Technology Fund plus private contributions, deploying 11 mechanical laboratories, five physicochemical laboratories, and six hydraulic component testing benches. A second testing phase will subsequently assess B21 to B25 blends.
The National Energy Policy Council holds final authority over blend increases, requiring technical validation before implementation. Each additional percentage point represents significant demand expansion for an industry currently operating at under 70% capacity. Producer associations including Ubrabio, Abiove, and Aprobio argue that accelerated biodiesel adoption reduces Brazil’s exposure to international petroleum price volatility and strengthens energy security. The Parliamentary Biodiesel Front supports faster implementation, pointing to robust soybean oil supplies from record crushing volumes.
The government’s methodology differs from recent ethanol decisions, where the blend was raised to E32 based on tolerance margins from E30 testing and influenced by Middle East conflict impacts on global gasoline markets. For biodiesel, authorities are conducting direct evaluations of each percentage point through B20 to provide stronger technical foundations for policy decisions. Industry attempts to advance to B17 in July 2026 were unsuccessful, highlighting tensions between production capacity utilization pressures and the government’s measured expansion approach. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva publicly endorsed continued blend progression in April, framing Brazil’s renewable fuel technology as an international showcase for knowledge transfer rather than mere consumption.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
