(Boeing: Chicago, IL) -- Boeing, an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation; and Embraer, a manufacturer of commercial, executive, defense, and agricultural aircraft; and the Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP), which fosters research and the scientific and technological development of the State of São Paulo, have announced plans to collaborate on long-term aviation biofuel-related research and development, a move that represents another major step toward the creation of a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil. Azul, GOL, TAM, and Trip airlines will be strategic advisors in the program.

Boeing, Embraer, and FAPESP are leading the development of a detailed report outlining the unique opportunities and challenges of creating a cost-effective, bio-derived, and sustainable jet-fuel production and distribution industry in Brazil. When completed in late 2012, the report, which will include a technology and sustainability road map, will be made public.

The study will be guided by a series of public workshops during 2012 with input from a wide range of stakeholders, as well as a strategic advisory board, which will give the project wide-ranging guidance and institutional support. Members will include airlines, fuel producers and suppliers, environmental experts, community groups, and government agencies.

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