Shell Brasil invests in five-year agave research project at Unicamp

In Brazil, Shell Brasil formalized a partnership with the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) for the development of Agave (a cultivar typical of the Brazilian Sertão) as a new source of productive, efficient and competitive biomass, capable of capturing and storing large amounts of carbon. The program, entitled BRAVE (Brazilian Agave Development), was launched on Monday during a ceremony at Unicamp’s Genomics and Bioenergy Laboratory, in Campinas (SP). With an investment of around R$30 million, the project is financed by Shell, using resources from the Research, Development and Innovation clause of the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

Through the program, technologies will be developed that will provide the basis for a new industrial chain in the country, based on a cultivar adapted to the semi-arid climate present in the Brazilian Sertão and whose productive potential is similar to that found in sugarcane cultivated in other regions of the world. Brazil. The development of BRAVE includes biological solutions to improve the productivity, adaptability and resistance of Agave, as well as the creation, for the first time in the world, of equipment for planting and harvesting this cultivar. Finally, the partnership provides for the construction of pilot plants for the processing and refining of biomass to be installed in Bahia, converting Agave into biofuels and several other renewable products, such as first and second generation ethanol and biogas.

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