Rio Grande in new deals for green hydrogen production

The governor of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Fátima Bezerra (PT), signed two memorandums of understanding for the development of green hydrogen production plants and derivatives in locations near the planned Porto-Industry of the state while on a trip to Portugal to meet with European investors.

In a ceremony held in Porto on Friday, March 3, an agreement was signed with Robert Klein, the CEO of Voltalia Brasil.

The French company Voltalia has renewable energy projects totaling more than 1 GW in Rio Grande do Norte and another 5 GW in eleven Brazilian states.

According to Fátima Bezerra, the initiative will help the region’s socioeconomic development by raising associated rates and increasing investment contributions.

The creation of green hydrogen and its derivatives, including ammonia and e-methanol, would supply both domestic needs and those of foreign buyers.

A component of the Norte Rio Grande do Sul program for green hydrogen is the Porto-Industry Project.

In the context of Power-to-X, projects like this one (green hydrogen) are inserted. According to Robert Klein, these projects should significantly contribute to the entire hydrogen value chain.

With an agreement in the Northeast, Enerfin increases interest.

Fátima Bezerra had already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Spanish organization Enerfn on Tuesday (28/3), in Lisbon, for the setting up of the pilot project for the generation of green hydrogen and related energy in the state.

This kind of agreement between the business and Rio Grande do Sul already exists

The port-industry installation project and the state’s green hydrogen initiative were both submitted to the EDP Renováveis leadership on the same day.

The Potiguar government is also getting ready to sign a third agreement with the Brazilian business Maturati in the upcoming weeks in order to create a hybrid venture in Areia Branca with a capacity of more than 1 GW in addition to wind and solar generation.

In the presence of the governor’s entourage in Portugal, the company’s investor partners have already expressed interest in expanding the project and considering the generation of green hydrogen.

We will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary and the government of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in this regard, according to one of the investors, Miguel Morgado. “We are in a phase of adaptation and preparation of the project for the new reality of hydrogen and its derivatives – ammonia, urea, etc.

The government hopes to attract R$ 20 billion in investments

Hugo Fonseca, the country’s coordinator for energy development, is hoping that during the program of meetings, the goal of R $ 20 billion in private investments for the sector of power generation may be attained, with a primary focus on innovative sources like green hydrogen and allied energies.

The Secretary of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation, Jaime Calado, claimed that as a result of these trips to China, Denmark, and other European nations, we were able to invest more than R$ 7 billion in renewable energy in 2020, R$ 13 billion in 2021, and R$ 31 billion in renewable energy last year.

The government of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, Vestas, signed a memorandum of understanding last year to examine the viability of integrating green hydrogen generation and offshore wind projects into the port business.

The agreement was the result of a meeting between Vestas and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), the investment arm of Danish pension fund PensionDanmark, that Governor Fatima Bezerra had in Denmark in November 2021.

Together with a memorandum with the government, COP also already has an offshore license project with a capacity of about 2 GW off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. The electric grid in Rio Grande do Norte is 94% renewable in terms of installed electricity.

According to data from the State Secretariat for Economic Development, the total value of investments in new projects for the generation of renewable energy in the state last year was R$ 31.26 billion, of which R$ 21.88 billion went toward photovoltaic solar energy and the remainder went toward wind energy projects (Sedec).

With 7.43 GW of electricity under control, the state is the greatest wind energy producer in the nation (in operation). Volume accounts for around 30.2% of Brazil’s total wind output.