As the global automotive industry turns to vehicles powered by batteries containing minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt, manufacturers in Brazil believe the future of cleaner cars lines in a combination of 21st century electric technology and an old world commodity: sugar.
Most passenger automobiles sold in Latin America’s largest economy are already capable of running on a mix of petrol and lower-emission ethanol, a biofuel which in Brazil is mainly derived from sugarcane.
Multinational automakers including Stellantis, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and China’s Great Wall Motor are now making investments worth billions of dollars to add a degree of electrification to these so-called flexible fuel cars.