BNDES and Embrapii foster innovation in the bioeconomy and other sectors

During COP26 in November 2021, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation (Embrapii) signed an agreement to invest the equivalent of about 30 million dollars in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) projects from Brazilian companies. The focus areas of the initiative are digital transformation, defense, new materials and four topics related to social and environmental sustainability: forestry bioeconomy, biofuels, circular economy and strategic technologies for the Unified Health System.

One year later, BNDES and Embrapii have financially supported 17 projects with contributions of nearly 4.5 million dollars (BNDES contributions are non-reimbursable), out of which 7 projects are related to forestry bioeconomy. It is estimated that the initiative could promote investments of up to 100 million dollars, considering private co-financing. The agreement seeks to promote technological development in the northern region of Brazil in particular.