Brazil’s first H2V molecule is produced in the Pecém Port Complex

A milestone toward the generation of clean energy in Brazil. Ceará governor Elmano de Freitas attended on Thursday, Jan 19, the launch ceremony of the first molecule of Green Hydrogen (H2V) produced in Brazil. This stage is critical for developing an H2V pilot project at the Pecém Port Complex, called Pecém Thermoelectric Complex (UTE Pecém).

With a R$ 42 million investment, the unit installed in Pecém is the first in Ceará, Latin America, and the first to belong to the EDP Group. “It is time to celebrate a milestone in the Brazilian energy transition: EDP Brasil’s first green hydrogen production unit on a scale greater than 1MW. It is also time to reaffirm the Company’s commitment to developing the Pecém Industrial Port Complex and the State of Ceará with the construction of the largest hub of production, consumption, and export of green hydrogen in Latin America,” said the Complex’s president.

Green hydrogen production

Considered a universal fuel, hydrogen can be obtained in its green form by utilizing renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar/photovoltaic energy, and the process of separating the hydrogen molecule from the oxygen molecule in water. All of these are abundant in Ceará.

EDP’s Green Hydrogen plant (Pecém H2V) is a Research & Development project at UTE Pecém. It includes a solar plant with a capacity of 3 MW and a state-of-the-art electrolyzer module for fuel production with a guarantee of renewable origin, with an ability to produce 250 Nm³/h of gas.

Future

In addition to the EDP Brasil’s pilot project, Ceará state envisions taking on other projects in this sector. So far, the Government of Ceará, the majority shareholder of the Pecém Complex, has already signed 24 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to implement Green Hydrogen projects, mainly in the states’ Export Processing Zone (EPZ) area.

EDP Brasil’s production is a first attempt at what can be accomplished by the 24 companies that have already signed memorandums. Three of these memorandums evolved into pre-contracts. The first of them was signed with the Australian multinational Fortescue Metals Group in June 2022.

As a result, Ceará and Fortescue, a global leader in the iron ore industry, will cooperate in implementing the first H2V plant in Pecém. A pre-contract was also signed with AES Brasil, a multinational producer of 100% renewable energy, which aims to install a production-and-commercialization plant of Green Hydrogen and derivatives in the Ceará ZPE. Finally, a pre-contract was signed with the companies Casa dos Ventos and Comerc Eficiência for the installation of a manufacturing unit for the production of hydrogen and green ammonia, with initial operations expected for 2026.

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