Brazil, due to its climate and soil conditions, and the large area available for agriculture, is one of the countries with the greatest potential for biomass production in the world. The choice of the most appropriate crops as raw materials for traditional markets (food, nutrition and fiber) and emerging markets (energy, biomaterials, green chemistry) depends on technical and economic aspects, since the costs of raw materials represent a significant portion of product costs as well.Therefore, Embrapa Agroenergy aims to improve plant biomasses, such as sugarcane, jatropha, and algae, for industrial purposes, through genetic/genomic improvement and biotechnology. The goal is to select/develop genetic materials with specific characteristics that make them suitable for industrial processes.

Consists in the use of microorganisms or enzymes in industrial biochemical processes. These processes aim to minimize the generation of residues, add value to products and favor the environmental sustainability of production chains. The performance spectrum of industrial biotechnology is wide, ranging from the use of yeast in fermentation processes for biofuels production to the addition of a certain enzyme in the composition of an animal feed to increase its digestibility. At Embrapa Agroenergy, industrial biotechnology is considered in the scope of inputs generation and industrial processes for the production of ethanol, biogas, organic acids, polyols, bioactive compounds, enzymes, among others.

This involves the use of biomass (starchy, lignocellulosic, oleaginous and saccharide) as raw material for the generation of renewable chemical products by chemical, thermochemical and physical-chemical processes. Embrapa Agroenergy is engaged in research development to produce chemical building blocks, biodiesel, pigments, pests and pathogens biocontrol agents, among others.

These are materials made from organic matter of vegetable, animal or microbial origin. The great availability of vegetable raw materials in Brazil offers promising opportunities for the development and production of innovative renewable materials. Embrapa Agroenergy is working on the research development for the production of cellulose nanofibers, reinforced natural rubber and biopolymers.