Brazil approves new rules to support biodiesel and ethanol fuels
30 July 2026
Brazil’s National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) approved new biodiesel rules and a temporary increase in Brazil’s mandatory ethanol blend in gasoline to 32%. These measures, adopted on July 14, are a part of the Fuel of the Future strategy to expand renewable fuels and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Biodiesel. The new biodiesel measures include a ban on biodiesel imports for compliance with the biodiesel blending mandate—which currently stands at 15% (B15)—and the expansion of a voluntary use of the biofuel in percentages higher than the mandatory level.
Under one resolution, imported biodiesel may not be used to comply with Brazil’s mandatory biodiesel blending requirements. The formal barrier to imports responds to a concern in the biodiesel sector regarding a CNPE resolution from April 1, which established that at least 80% of biodiesel sold in the country had to come from family farming, but did not clarify whether the remaining volume could be imported.
By reserving the mandatory blending market for domestic production, the measure will support demand for Brazilian biodiesel producers and, indirectly, soybean oil, the country’s primary biodiesel feedstock.
In a separate resolution, the CNPE also approved rules allowing the voluntary use of biodiesel in percentages exceeding the national blend level in captive fleets, public transportation systems, agricultural machinery, mining equipment, railways, inland waterway transport, and power generation applications.
The new measure allows consumers in those segments to voluntarily adopt higher biodiesel blends whenever technically compatible with their engines and equipment, creating an additional market for domestic producers beyond the mandatory national blend.
Although the Future Fuel Law [Law No. 14.993/2024] had already allowed the practice of adding biodiesel levels exceeding the mandatory mandate, a 2015 CNPE resolution still required formal authorization from the national oil regulator ANP for commercially voluntary blends above 10,000 liters.
Under the previous model that required authorization from the ANP, 13 companies—mostly biodiesel producers and firms in the river, road and rail transport sectors—were permitted to use higher biodiesel blend for specific applications. The new measure requires industry participants to just report the use of these blends to the ANP, waiving prior consent.
Ethanol. At the same meeting, the CNPE approved a third resolution that temporarily increases, from 30% to 32% (E32), the mandatory percentage of anhydrous ethanol blended into gasoline sold throughout the national territory. The measure will be in effect for 180 days, with the possibility of a single extension for an equal period.
The update to the blending ratio, already foreseen in the Future Fuel Law, will allow the country to stop importing 900 million liters of gasoline per year, according to the CNPE.
The adoption of the E32 blend was supported by technical studies—coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and carried out by the Mauá Institute of Technology (IMT)—that evaluated the performance of the new blend in light vehicles and motorcycles representative of the national fleet. The results showed that the use of E32 had no significant impacts on vehicle operation, including those equipped with non-flex engines.
Alongside the implementation of the E32 measure, studies are underway within the Permanent Technical Committee on the Fuel of the Future to evaluate blends with higher percentages of ethanol, including E35. The tests focus on analyzing the durability of components and the long-term effects of using the fuel.
Source: CNPE | S&P Global