In Brazil, Wärtsilä has partnered with Brazilian energy company Energetica Suape II S.A, majority owned by Grupo Econômico 4M, to conduct a world-first clean energy trial, which will see ethanol – a biofuel mainly produced from sugarcane – used to generate clean power. Taking place at the Suape II power station in Recife, Brazil, the trial will test the world’s-first ethanol-fuelled engine for large-scale electricity generation. The ethanol demonstration upgrade project was booked by Wärtsilä in Q1 2025.
As part of the agreement, Wärtsilä will operate up to 4,000 hours of tests on the Wärtsilä 32M engine over two years from April 2026, to ensure the most reliable and efficient operation. It could be the first step in a significant movement towards using ethanol as an energy fuel in the country, and the federal government has included ethanol as fuel option in its upcoming capacity auction, which takes place in June 2025.
Wärtsilä will operate and maintain the engine under an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Agreement with Energetica Suape II S.A. The agreement was booked in Q4, 2024. The two-year renewal will ensure supply reliability and performance guarantees throughout the customer’s current power purchase agreement (PPA), which runs until the end of 2026.
Tags: Brazil, ethanol, Wärtsilä
Category: Fuels
