Nov 30, 2023
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently participated in a panel at the Latin American Energy Organization's (OLADE's) annual Energy Week. Pictured from left to right, the panel included Juan Diaz, USGC Latin America regional ethanol consultant; Julio Minelli of the Brazilian Association of Biofuels Producers; Flavio Castellari of the Brazilian Ethanol Cluster; Patrick Adam of the Chamber of Corn Ethanol in Argentina; Agustin Torroba of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture; and Yamila Hana of the National Alcohol and Portland Fuels Administration.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) was invited by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) to participate in a panel, “Opportunities for Liquid Biofuels in Latin America and its Role in the Decarbonization of the Transportation Sector,” during the VIII Energy Week event held in Montevideo, Uruguay.
OLADE offers technical assistance and helps ensure cooperation and coordination in promotion and use of Latin America’s energy resources.
“The Council’s participation, along with IICA and the Pan American Coalition for Biofuels, represents an opportunity to provide updated information on the role of biofuels in decarbonizing the transportation sector and illustrating the capability that the Americas, as a region, has to expand the use of biofuels and become a successful case to emulate in the world,” said Juan Diaz, USGC Latin America (LTA) regional ethanol consultant.
The panel featured USGC’s LTA Regional Ethanol Consultant Juan Diaz; Yamila Hana of the National Alcohol and Portland Fuels Administration (ANCAP); Patrick Adam of the Chamber of Corn Ethanol in Argentina (Biomaíz); Julio Minelli of the Brazilian Association of Biofuels Producers (Aprobio); Flavio Castellari of the Brazilian Ethanol Cluster (APLA); and Agustin Torroba of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), who discussed biofuel’s contribution to the decarbonization of the transportation sector. The discussion also highlighted the potential the LTA region has to expand the production and the promotion of biofuels.
The Council shared a timeline of the ethanol industry and how the United States was able to create an industry that is the largest ethanol producer in the world but also one of the most committed industries to reach net zero by 2050. The audience was impressed by the ambitious goals of the U.S. ethanol industry, including the 2030 milestone of ethanol creating a 70 percent carbon reduction compared to gasoline.
“While there has been a lot of attention paid to electro-mobility in the energy transition discussion, the organizations participating in this session elevated the use of biofuels as an alternate solution in determining a pathway to replace fossil fuels with other cleaner sources,” Diaz said.
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