New ITA briefing identifies "efficiency and optimisation" projects as a near-term opportunity for Brazil’s industrial transition, with lower-cost finance and "as-a-service" models as key to unlocking finance
São Paulo, May 12, 2026 — Today, the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA), in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) and Systemiq, released a landmark briefing titled, "Financing Industrial Decarbonisation Projects in Brazil." The briefing diagnoses the key barriers to investment and outlines practical solutions to address these challenges and accelerate clean technology deployment across heavy industry.
While global attention often focuses on “mega-projects”, like multi-billion dollar green hydrogen plants, the ITA briefing identifies a clear, near-term opportunity in efficiency and optimisation projects. Upgrades to existing facilities, such as fuel switching in cement plants or boiler electrification in alumina refining, are critical to meeting Brazil’s climate goals and can even lower operating costs for industry, but many projects remain stalled due to high financial hurdle rates and capital costs.
The briefing highlights the magnitude of the challenge: it is estimated that the industrial and energy sectors in Brazil will need annual investments of USD ~60- 85 bn through 2033 to align with the necessary transition pathways. Efficiency and optimisation projects are an immediate entry point, typically requiring lower capital expenditure (CAPEX), representing shorter timelines, and carrying less risk than mega-projects.
"Brazil has a clear opportunity to cut industrial emissions in the near-term," says Faustine Delasalle, Executive Director of the ITA and CEO of Mission Possible Partnership. "Our analysis shows that for certain projects, the barriers to investment are not technological, but financial. By leveraging the right mix of lower-cost finance and innovative business models, these projects can accelerate from plans to reality."
Key Findings and Solutions
The briefing outlines two primary solutions to bridge the investment gap for efficiency and optimisation projects in Brazil, drawing on case studies selected by the ITA:
- Lower-cost finance: With interest rates below market benchmarks, these sources of funding are highlighted as the most immediate tools for reducing the cost of finance for industrial projects. These include international sources, like multilateral development banks and export credit agencies, as well as domestic concessional sources like Fundo Clima (Brazil’s National Climate Fund), whose budget expanded to over BRL 11 bn in 2025. While the basic interest rate (SELIC) is at high levels (approx. 15%), domestic credit lines such as FINEP Reembolsável and BNDES Mais Inovação offer significantly lower rates, between 3.7% and 3.9% per year. The Fundo Clima Direto line, offered by BNDES at rates around 7.4%, still represents a drastic reduction in the cost of capital for the industry.
- Sustainability-as-a-service: For companies hesitant to commit balance sheet capital to projects, the ITA highlights "as-a-service" models as an alternative. In this arrangement, third-party specialists finance, build, and operate decarbonisation assets (such as heat generation or waste-to-energy equipment) in exchange for a service fee, effectively bypassing corporate CAPEX constraints.
"The projects supported by the ITA are in the vanguard of Brazil’s 'Green Neoindustrialisation'," says Julia Cruz, Secretary for Green Economy, Decarbonisation, and Bioindustry at the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services. "This briefing provides practical insights for how national industry can help Brazil uphold its commitments under the Paris Agreement today while remaining competitive."
Unlocking Brazil’s Clean Industry Opportunities
The ITA concludes that while lower-cost finance and alternative business models can help unlock efficiency and optimisation for projects in the near-term, a broader shift in the financing ecosystem is required to fully enable Brazil’s industrial transition. The brief draws lessons on how to achieve this shift from international and national examples, including Brazil’s highly successful agricultural financing ecosystem underpinned by the Plano Safra, Brazil's primary annual agricultural policy. The 2024/2025 plan allocated over BRL 400 bn to the sector which allowed the private sector to provide over BRL1.2 tn in credit, according to government data[1] from April 2025, suggesting that similar arrangements for industry could enable significant investment in the same way, including for decarbonisation projects.
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Additional information
- About the ITA: The ITA is a global multistakeholder initiative, launched at COP28, to catalyse decarbonisation across heavy-emitting industry and transport sectors, that represent a third of global emissions. With expansive networks across industry, financial institutions, and governments, the ITA brings together global leaders to unlock investment at scale, for the rapid deployment of decarbonisation solutions. It aims to significantly grow the pipeline of commercial scale, clean industrial projects to reduce emissions and enable delivery of Paris Agreement aligned ambition for these sectors.
- About Systemiq: Systemiq, the system-change company, was founded in 2016 to drive the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, by transforming markets and business models in five key systems: nature and food, materials and circularity, energy, urban areas, and sustainable finance. www.systemiq.earth
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[1] Ministry of Agriculture data; sources included in the briefing