Amyris Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, Inc. has announced that it will
supply renewable diesel during a 12-month fleet test involving 20 city buses in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The renewable fuel derived from sugarcane, known locally as Diesel de Cana, will be blended at a 30 percent rate with petroleum-derived diesel and used in Mercedes-Benz buses operated by Viação Saens Peña, a Rio-based bus operator. The Rio transportation federation, FETRANSPOR, will use the data collected during this fleet test to evaluate the engine and environmental benefits of Amyris’s renewable diesel. The results of the fleet test will be presented at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) taking place in Rio in June 2012.
“We are ready to meet the growing demand for cane-derived renewable fuels in Rio as the city prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.”“We are thrilled to expand the use of our renewable diesel to Brazil’s second-largest city. This will be the first large-scale use of our Diesel de Cana at a blend of 30 percent in Brazil,” said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. “We continue to see strong demand for our renewable fuels, particularly as more engine suppliers and transport operators validate their performance.”
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The city of Rio de Janeiro has more than 8,000 buses consuming about 280 million liters of diesel per year. The Rio fleet test is expected to validate the significant reduction of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions evidenced in recent Mercedes-Benz engine tests with a 30 percent blend of Amyris’s renewable diesel. “Rio’s government and public transportation authorities are committed to leading by example in addressing climate change, and Amyris—along with our partners Mercedes-Benz, Petrobras, Michelin and BNDES—is honored to play a role in addressing Rio’s transportation needs,” said Paulo Diniz, president of Amyris Brasil. “We are ready to meet the growing demand for cane-derived renewable fuels in Rio as the city prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.”
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