Mexico is moving forward with plans to increase the amount of ethanol it blends into gasoline, a senior energy ministry official said Tuesday, potentially creating new opportunities for biofuel exporters and infrastructure developers.
A 2016 technical standard allows a maximum blend of 5.8% ethanol in gasoline and prohibits its use in major cities.
Ana María Gómez Solares, the energy ministry’s director general of renewable energy, said the ministry wants a 10% blending mandate.
“We want to introduce it at a minimum of 10%,” Gómez told a Senate meeting Tuesday. “We would prefer it to be 15% or even 20%.”
“Many countries already have blends up to 15%, and we believe it’s feasible to achieve this in Mexico. We are working very closely with different institutions to make this happen in the short term.”
As part of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s push to decarbonize the energy sector, Mexico also aims to increase the production and consumption of biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuel, biogas, and biomethane.
Mexico will need to build biorefineries to produce ethanol and biodiesel, Gómez said, and invest in storage and distribution infrastructure.
“We have been working to determine the best way to secure the necessary investments.”
An increase in ethanol consumption in Mexico would potentially boost demand for imports from the United States and Brazil, the world’s largest producers.
Felipe de Jesús Ortega García, director of the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP), estimated that the country’s ethanol demand would increase from around 5 million liters per day with a 5.8% mandate to nearly 16 million liters per day with a 20% mandate.
Mexico’s ethanol production is only about 2 million liters per day, he said.
If Mexico does not increase the cultivation and yields of sugarcane, corn, and sorghum, it will depend on imports from countries such as Brazil, the United States, and Guatemala, Ortega said.
Source: bnamericas
