Brazil, China Announce $1 Billion Sustainable Fuel Deal During President Lula's Visit

During his official visit to China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced a series of strategic agreements with Beijing, including a $1 billion investment by Chinese conglomerate Envision Energy in Brazil's sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector.

Envision Energy will launch a sugarcane-based SAF production project in Brazil, a major step forward in efforts to decarbonize the aviation industry and promote renewable energy between the world's two largest developing economies, the Brazilian presidency announced on Monday.

Technology and defense investments were also on the agenda
Lula held high-level meetings with representatives of energy companies, automaker GAC, and Chinese defense conglomerate Norinco. In addition, Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira revealed that the government is seeking technology investments, including a data center, from TikTok's parent company ByteDance.

Silveira said Brazil is "making every effort" to improve infrastructure at the port of Pecem in Ceara state, where TikTok is reportedly planning to invest up to 50 billion reais (about $8.82 billion) to build a data center. ByteDance has not yet made an official comment.

Expanded renewable energy technology cooperation
In addition, Brazil's Mines and Energy Ministry also announced a partnership between Windey Energy Technology - a Chinese state-owned company - and Brazil's Senai Cimatec engineering school, to develop energy storage solutions and renewable technologies in the future.

“This is a strategic step forward in our bilateral relationship, not only in terms of trade but also in terms of clean technology and energy transition,” Silveira said in Beijing.

Lula’s visit marks a new phase in the Brazil-China partnership, especially as both countries look to sustainable development and energy innovation as central to their economic development policies.