The Senate plenary approved the bill setting rules for the Low-Emission Hydrogen Development Program (PHBC). It will now be sent to President Lula for sanction.
The legislation stipulates that the PHBC will grant tax credits for commercializing low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives produced in the national territory. Introduced by Congressman José Guimarães (PT-CE), the government’s leader in the House, the bill received a favorable report from the Senate’s rapporteur Otto Alencar (PSD-BA).
The total tax credit between 2028 and 2032 will amount to R$18.3 billion, with annual limits of R$1.7 billion (2028), R$2.9 billion (2029), R$4.2 billion (2030), R$4.5 billion (2031), and R$5 billion (2032). Any unused values can be transferred to the following years. The government will disclose the granted credits annually, their usage, and beneficiaries.
The new project defines clear goals to develop the domestic market for low-carbon hydrogen, focusing on hard-to-decarbonize sectors like fertilizers, steel, cement, chemical, and petrochemical industries. It also aims to promote the use of hydrogen in heavy transport, such as maritime transport.
The legislation allows for tax credits to be granted through competition, benefiting production projects or buyers who use the credit as a subsidy to reduce the price difference between hydrogen and other fuels.
Future Fuel Program
Following its approval by the Senate’s Infrastructure Committee earlier this week, the Future Fuel bill also received the Senate plenary’s nod this Wednesday. The vote was symbolic, with Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) casting the only dissenting vote. As the bill was modified in the Senate, it will return to the House of Representatives for further consideration. The bill was approved as a substitute presented by Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB).
The bill creates initiatives to develop green diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and biomethane. It also increases the ethanol blend in gasoline and biodiesel in diesel.
The Senate-approved text establishes a new ethanol-gasoline blend ratio of 27%, with a permissible range of 22% to 35%. Currently, the blend varies between 18% and 27.5%. For biodiesel, the current mixture of 14% may increase by one percentage point per year from March 2025, reaching 20% in March 2030. The bill stipulates that the rate can exceed 15% if technical feasibility is confirmed.
A novelty in the current energy matrix is that the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) will regulate and oversee synthetic fuels produced through technological routes, such as thermochemical and catalytic processes, which can partially or entirely replace fossil fuels. The bill also assigns the ANP to regulate CO2 geological storage and authorizes Petrobras to engage in CO2 movement and storage activities, energy transition, and low-carbon economy.
