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The Brazilian sugarcane innovation system

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  • Furtado, André Tosi
  • Scandiffio, Mirna Ivonne Gaya
  • Cortez, Luis Augusto Barbosa

Abstract

Ethanol has recently been of great interest worldwide because it is a viable economic alternative to petroleum products and it is a renewable source of energy that mitigates the emission of greenhouse gases. Brazilian bioethanol from sugarcane is the most successful case at the world level because of its low cost and low level of greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil's success with sugarcane cannot be understood as based solely on a natural comparative advantage, but as a result of efforts that culminated in a positive trajectory of technological learning, relying mostly on incremental innovations. The purpose of this article is to analyze the key aspects of the innovation system built around the Brazilian sugarcane industry. It is based on the national innovation systems approach according to which innovation results from the interaction of different institutional actors. Institutional arrangements are analyzed as the basis for the innovative process, in particular R&D and the innovation policies and strategies of the main players in the sugarcane sector, including sugar and ethanol mills, industrial goods suppliers, public and private research institutions, and governmental agencies.

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  • Furtado, André Tosi & Scandiffio, Mirna Ivonne Gaya & Cortez, Luis Augusto Barbosa, 2011. "The Brazilian sugarcane innovation system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 156-166, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:39:y:2011:i:1:p:156-166
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    2. Figueiredo, Paulo N. & Larsen, Henrik & Hansen, Ulrich E., 2020. "The role of interactive learning in innovation capability building in multinational subsidiaries: A micro-level study of biotechnology in Brazil," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    3. Salles-Filho, Sergio Luiz Monteiro & Castro, Paula Felício Drummond de & Bin, Adriana & Edquist, Charles & Ferro, Ana Flávia Portilho & Corder, Solange, 2017. "Perspectives for the Brazilian bioethanol sector: The innovation driver," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 70-77.
    4. Ekman, Anna & Wallberg, Ola & Joelsson, Elisabeth & Börjesson, Pål, 2013. "Possibilities for sustainable biorefineries based on agricultural residues – A case study of potential straw-based ethanol production in Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 299-308.
    5. Gasparatos, A. & von Maltitz, G.P. & Johnson, F.X. & Lee, L. & Mathai, M. & Puppim de Oliveira, J.A. & Willis, K.J., 2015. "Biofuels in sub-Sahara Africa: Drivers, impacts and priority policy areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 879-901.
    6. Palazzi, Rafael Baptista & Meira, Erick & Klotzle, Marcelo Cabus, 2022. "The sugar-ethanol-oil nexus in Brazil: Exploring the pass-through of international commodity prices to national fuel prices," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    7. Ricardo Vargas-Carpintero & Thomas Hilger & Karen Tiede & Carolin Callenius & Johannes Mössinger & Roney Fraga Souza & Juan Carlos Barroso Armas & Frank Rasche & Iris Lewandowski, 2022. "A Collaborative, Systems Approach for the Development of Biomass-Based Value Webs: The Case of the Acrocomia Palm," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-31, October.
    8. Brito, Thiago Luis Felipe & Islam, Towhidul & Stettler, Marc & Mouette, Dominique & Meade, Nigel & Moutinho dos Santos, Edmilson, 2019. "Transitions between technological generations of alternative fuel vehicles in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    9. Arnaldo Walter & Marcelo Valadares Galdos & Fabio Vale Scarpare & Manoel Regis Lima Verde Leal & Joaquim Eugênio Abel Seabra & Marcelo Pereira da Cunha & Michelle Cristina Araujo Picoli & Camila Ortol, 2014. "Brazilian sugarcane ethanol: developments so far and challenges for the future," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 70-92, January.
    10. Chao Bi & Jingjing Zeng & Wanli Zhang & Yonglin Wen, 2020. "Modelling the Coevolution of the Fuel Ethanol Industry, Technology System, and Market System in China: A History-Friendly Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-26, February.
    11. Paola Sakai & Stavros Afionis & Nicola Favretto & Lindsay C. Stringer & Caroline Ward & Marco Sakai & Pedro Henrique Weirich Neto & Carlos Hugo Rocha & Jaime Alberti Gomes & Nátali Maidl de Souza & No, 2020. "Understanding the Implications of Alternative Bioenergy Crops to Support Smallholder Farmers in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, March.
    12. Rafael Baptista Palazzi & Ata Assaf & Marcelo Cabus Klotzle, 2024. "Dynamic connectedness between energy markets and the Brazilian cash market: An empirical analysis pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 27-56, January.
    13. Bradshaw, Amanda & de Martino Jannuzzi, Gilberto, 2019. "Governing energy transitions and regional economic development: Evidence from three Brazilian states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-11.
    14. Carlos Bianchi & Pablo Galaso & Sergio Palomeque, 2020. "Invention and Collaboration Networks in Latin America: Evidence from Patent Data," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-04, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    15. De Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo Silva & Negro, Simona O., 2019. "Contextual structures and interaction dynamics in the Brazilian Biogas Innovation System," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 462-481.
    16. Vilas-Boas, Jean & Klerkx, Laurens & Lie, Rico, 2024. "The unpacking and repacking of agricultural innovation: Embrapa's translation roles and positions in the introduction of the pyramid model and hybrid pigs in Brazil," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    17. Jurandir Zullo & Vânia Rosa Pereira & Andrea Koga-Vicente, 2018. "Sugar-energy sector vulnerability under CMIP5 projections in the Brazilian central-southern macro-region," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 489-502, August.
    18. Wellington Spetic & Patricia Marquez & Robert Kozak, 2012. "Critical Areas and Entry Points for Sustainability‐Related Strategies in the Sugarcane‐Based Ethanol Industry of Brazil," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 370-386, September.
    19. Juan Sebastián Lara‐Rodríguez & Morgane M. C. Fritz, 2023. "How does eliminating mercury from artisanal and small‐scale gold mining lead to achieving sustainable development goals?," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(2), pages 214-228, May.
    20. de Freitas, Luciano Charlita & Kaneko, Shinji, 2012. "Is there a causal relation between ethanol innovation and the market characteristics of fuels in Brazil?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 161-168.

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    Ethanol Innovation Renewable energy;

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