The Palmas-based firm GreenEnergy Sustentáveis was chosen for the inaugural edition of the Green Hydrogen Innovation Program, iH2Brasil, a pioneering project of the Brazil-Germany Alliance for Green Hydrogen, founded by the Brazil-Germany Chambers of Commerce and Industry in S Paulo.
The program, which has the support of the German Technical Cooperation Agency – GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), is aimed at fostering ideas for the development of innovative solutions in production, logistics, and application that contribute to the expansion of H2 use.
chosen project
GreenEnergy provides sanitation and agriculture firms with long-term solutions for converting ETE sludge and agro-waste into advanced fuels including green diesel and hydrogen, as well as green electricity. Instead of dumping it in landfills or bags, the firm saves money and decreases CO2 emissions. During his time at iH2Brasil, he will design a project to establish a 30kg/ha pilot unit in a sanitation firm or industry that generates sludge for the pilot stage, which will include operational testing, equipment, process, and product improvement. GreenEnergy will also use green diesel, green gasoline, and green bio-oil in an electric power generator at the ETE to produce green energy in situ.
Program for Innovation
The iH2Brasil initiative will run for three years, from 2022 to 2023, and will bring together creative ideas from enthusiasts and non-profit organizations in addition to entrepreneurs. The first call, which ran from 03/14/2022 through 06/03/2022, featured an application period as well as a review of the pilot projects submitted. In the area of startups, 30 proposals were submitted, with eight being chosen for the acceleration process, which will last until October 2022. Through the establishment of pilot projects among startups and established enterprises, they have the explicit goal of leveraging innovative businesses and fostering open innovation.
The situation at the moment
Countries have been signing promises to cut CO2 emissions in response to rising global concern about climate change and its consequences on the world. In accordance with this, the Brazilian government, which is the world’s sixth-highest CO2 emitter, has pledged to cut CO2 emissions by 37 percent by 2025 and 43 percent by 2031. Aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 55 percent by 2050 is also on the table.
Using “clean energy” sources, which do not require fossil fuels in their production, is one of the key approaches to avoiding an increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and its subsequent repercussions on the planet and civilization.
Brazil already gets 83 percent of its energy from renewable sources, putting it in top place among countries in terms of clean energy generation. This is owing to the country’s geographical and climatic qualities, which also enable the country’s potential to become a global leader in Green Hydrogen, one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels. Renewable energy in Brazil has among of the lowest generating costs in the world, pointing to a similar trend for Green Hydrogen.
“Looking especially at the Green Hydrogen RD&I ecosystem, the situation is incipient and centered in the sector of production, with logistics and application being relatively out of date. Apart from that, there are still few efforts focused on assisting Cleantech, enterprises based on clean technology that takes a significant amount of money and time to develop,” explains Bruno Vath Zarpellon, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at the Brazil-Germany Chamber of So Paulo ( AHK SP). “The iH2Brasil Program will enable Brazil to take the lead and establish itself as a global leader in the use of green hydrogen to mitigate the adverse impacts of carbon emissions in the atmosphere,” Zarpellon says.
