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Abeeólica, Absolar, Abiogás and AHK Rio and the German Chamber of Commerce signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate the development of the market in the country.
Last week, the cooperation agreement called the Brazilian Pact for Renewable Hydrogen was signed between the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy and New Technologies (Abeeólica), the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar), the Brazilian Association of Biogas (Abiogás) and the Brazil-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rio de Janeiro (AHK Rio).
With the technical and institutional support of representative entities of the renewable energy sector and bilateral chambers of commerce, the initiative expands cooperation and the creation of networks between national and international actors. The intention is to accelerate the development of the Brazilian renewable hydrogen (H2R) market, both for export and domestic consumption.
The Pact defined six central objectives: (i) contribute to the definition of a regulatory framework; (ii) develop the application market for renewable hydrogen; (iii) promote socioeconomic development through the renewable hydrogen economy; (iv) promote hydrogen from renewable sources in the country; (v) disseminate the opportunities of renewable hydrogen to its members and to the Brazilian society; and (vi) increase the competitiveness of the production and use of renewable hydrogen.
The joint actions will include technical and institutional activities and projects, seeking the cooperation and participation of the parties in working groups, technical commissions, events, meetings, debates, seminars, conferences, road shows, studies, publications and everything necessary to develop the renewable hydrogen value chain in the country, as well as to stimulate investment and business and its dissemination in Brazil and abroad.
As an energy vector and primary, clean and versatile fuel, renewable hydrogen has the potential to become a strategic axis in the energy transition and the decarbonization of productive sectors in various segments. In addition to being sustainable, it can be used in various applications, drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, such as nitrogen fertilizers, mining, steel, methanol production, steel, air, sea and land transport of heavy vehicles. , among others.
“For the world to achieve greenhouse gas emissions neutrality by 2050, Brazil needs to do its part and can even turn this challenge into a great opportunity to accelerate its socioeconomic and environmental development, offering sustainable products and services to the world” . Market analysts project that in a few years Brazil could produce the most competitive renewable hydrogen in the world, if it develops adequate public policies, programs and incentives. Therefore, the Federal Governments National Hydrogen Program (PNH2) must be rethought, prioritizing and encouraging hydrogen production routes from renewable sources”, highlights Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of Absolar.
For the executive, from the development of renewable hydrogen, the country can become a world leader in the production, consumption and export of clean fuel. It can also strengthen green reindustrialization, with the attraction of new factories, more international capital, local job creation, new business opportunities and new technologies.
“The hydrogen market is global. Without effective incentives for production and consumption in the domestic market, we will lose opportunities in favor of other countries. Brazil needs to advance in the creation of a regulated carbon market, to accelerate the energy transition in the most polluting sectors”, adds Sauaia.
Abeeólica, highlights the offshore wind potential, estimated by the EPE at more than 700 GW, in large-scale projects, with high energy production, on the Brazilian coast, where hydrogen production projects are also concentrated.
“In the context of a just energy transition and a decarbonization process, issues that are on the world agenda, hydrogen emerges as the vector fuel for the energy transition. It is cited mainly to decarbonize sectors that are difficult to decarbonize today, such as the heavy transport sector, trucks and ships, and the steel industry”, highlights Elbia Gannoum, president of the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy and New Technologies.
“It is important to mention that hydrogen is already a reality in Brazil. In January of this year, EDP Brazil inaugurated its green hydrogen pilot plant in the Pecém Complex and UNIGEL will have the first industrial-scale project in the country. The first phase of the project will enter commercial operation at the end of this year and includes a hydrogen plant, powered by wind energy, which will produce 10,000 tons of green hydrogen and 60,000 tons of green ammonia per year,” Elbia added.
Germany launched its green hydrogen strategy in 2020 and, with the H2 Global program, last year launched the first public call for the global purchase of hydrogen, which was attended by some Brazilian companies. In addition, through the H2 Brasil program, it has invested in the development of a renewable hydrogen market in Brazil. Germany can be both a buyer of the clean fuel and a technology provider along the renewable hydrogen value chain. In this sense, AHK Rio contributes to the Brazilian Pact for Renewable Hydrogen the international component, in addition to being an important point of contact to take advantage of the commercial relations of the two countries, helping companies to connect.
Development of the green industry
For AHK Rio, renewable hydrogen has enormous potential in the reindustrialization of Brazil, which can strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. For Ansgar Pinkowski, director of Energy Transition and Sustainability at AHK Rio, Brazil has a great opportunity to change its reputation as a country that exports raw materials to that of a supplier of sustainable products with a very low environmental footprint.
“The challenge of transporting renewable hydrogen over long distances favors the development of industries close to where it is produced, with important positive effects on the economy of several countries. The industries will settle where the climatic and geographical conditions are favorable to the production of renewable hydrogen and the cost of transportation is low. In this context, Brazil and Germany can benefit from each other: Brazil, with its excellent industrial infrastructure and its long tradition of economic relations with Germany, will increasingly attract more German companies that want to produce products with higher added value in the country, and the Chamber of Trade and Industry Brazil-Germany of Rio de Janeiro wants and can assume an important role in this energy and industrial transformation.
Biogas instead of fossil natural gas in the production of green hydrogen from steam
Abiogás highlights that biogas is an input for an extremely interesting route for the production of renewable hydrogen, which is steam reforming, already consolidated today with the use of gas natural fossil. More than 90% of the worlds hydrogen currently comes from natural gas of fossil origin, which facilitates the use of biomethane to decarbonise production.
“Since the biomethane molecule is the same as that of natural gas, but 100% renewable, renewable hydrogen from biogas is obtained by taking advantage of the same existing processes and infrastructures, in a competitive way. It is, therefore, an immediate solution for the decarbonization of the route most used currently in the world and contributes to placing Brazil in the leadership of the production of renewable hydrogen”, highlights the executive director of Abiogás, Gabriel Kropsck.
Based on the perception that the renewable energy sector needs greater representation in public policy discussions for hydrogen, the four associations signed the Brazilian Pact for Renewable Hydrogen. As several countries are moving to find solutions for the decarbonization of economies and production processes, it is essential to clearly position Brazil as one of the main producers of H2R, in a concrete, ambitious and fast way, defend the parties. |
