Brazil’s green transition, made with Germany

In southern Brazil, on a pig farm in the state of Paraná, the air smells of manure – and the future. An entrepreneur draws gas produced from his animals’ waste. He purifies and compresses it and then converts it into a valuable energy source. He can sell the biogas and generate additional income. What was considered a waste problem for decades is now a business model. And an important component of the energy transition. Behind this transformation lies more than just entrepreneurship: it is the result of decades of Brazilian-German cooperation.

Brazil is Germany’s most important trading partner in Latin America. More than 1,500 German companies operate in the country, including BASF, Siemens, Volkswagen, and Bosch. Since 1993, GIZ has been helping to shape this relationship as a bridge between policymakers, research and business.

In 2009, solar energy supplied just 250 households across Brazil. Today, nearly 4 million decentralised small-scale systems feed electricity into the grid, around half of them on private homes. The sun now covers almost 20 per cent of Brazil’s electricity needs. This transformation was jointly initiated by Brazil and Germany. From 2012 onwards, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, GIZ worked with Brazilian authorities to create the legal framework to allow solar power to be fed into Brazilian grids. This re-regulated the market and opened it up to millions of households.

The figures speak for themselves: between early 2023 and late 2025 alone, Brazil saved almost 55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through solar power. That corresponds to the annual energy consumption of more than five million people in Germany. What was once a niche subject has become a pillar of Brazil's energy supply. It also benefits German companies such as Siemens Energy, BayWa r.e. and SMA.

Back to Paraná. Here, the Mele group from Germany is developing a major project with GIZ to produce green methanol and hydrogen derivatives from manure and agricultural waste. This is then to be turned into sustainable fuels for industry and transport, including aviation. Neudi Mosconi from the Mele group explains, ‘GIZ has played a crucial role at every stage of the project by establishing contacts with financing partners and opening up new avenues into the Brazilian market for the Mele group.’

Green hydrogen plays a central role as an energy carrier in the energy transition. It produces no CO₂ emissions and can be utilised wherever electricity cannot be used directly: in steel production, shipping, aviation and fertiliser manufacturing. Brazil, with its abundance of sun and wind, has the potential to become one of the world’s largest producers. GIZ is supporting in the development of hydrogen production – from research and regulation to market development. As part of this, it is collaborating with AXIA Energia and Thyssenkrupp South America. 

What sets GIZ apart is its access to business, policymakers as well as research and educational institutions. GIZ takes a long-term approach, works closely with political actors and, at the same time, opens doors for companies. 

Paulo Alvarenga, Head of Thyssenkrupp South America, says: ‘What sets GIZ apart from other consultancy firms is its combination of technical expertise and very solid political and institutional work – in Brazil and in Germany.’

This combination makes GIZ an important partner for the private sector. It acts as an intermediary between regulators and investors, between research laboratories and production halls, between Brazilian states and Brussels standards. At Hannover Messe from 20 to 24 April 2026, where Brazil is this year’s partner country, GIZ presents this work to a broad audience from various different industry sectors and countries.