Brazil’s BNDES to release US$6bn through climate fund

Brazilian development bank BNDES plans to provide financing of 32.1bn reais (US$5.94bn) through its fund for initiatives to mitigate climate change.

The financing, expected to be available until the end of 2026, will focus on clean energy and transportation projects.

The bank’s climate fund provides financing for companies and government decarbonization projects at an average annual interest rate of 6.15%.

The fund was created in 2009 and operates in two components: a non-refundable part, administered by the environment and climate change ministry using resources from the government budget, and a part administered by BNDES, with subsidized interest rates.

In 2023, BNDES disbursed 814mn reais via the fund, up from 170mn reais in 2022.

DUAL FUEL TRUCKS 

Mining giant Vale, meanwhile, announced that it set up a partnership with Komatsu and Cummins to develop and test dual fuel offroad trucks powered by a mixture of ethanol and diesel.

They will be the world’s first trucks of their size, with payloads of 230t to 290t, to run on ethanol, according to a Vale release.

“The Dual Fuel program will contribute to the achievement of Vale’s goals of reducing scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions (direct and indirect) by 33% by 2030 and becoming net-zero by 2050,” the miner said. 

“The program is a recognition of the need to reduce carbon emissions in mining operations. Its goal is to convert existing diesel engines in haul trucks to run on a mix of ethanol and diesel, thus making them considerably more sustainable. The retrofitted trucks will be capable of using up to 70% ethanol and reducing direct CO2 emissions by up to 70%,” it added.