On Friday (4), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva approved the National Low-Carbon Hydrogen Policy, which could boost the energy production of the largest country in South America from clean sources. The event took place at the Port of Pecém, in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará.
In his speech, Lula stressed Brazil’s potential for the energy transition and the fight against climate change. He reiterated that the richest countries, which have “historically” contributed the most to global warming through the use of fossil fuels and deforestation, should bear the greatest cost of preserving the environment. “When I see people talking about green hydrogen, the solar, wind, biomass and green hydrogen revolution, I wonder which country in the world can compete with Brazil? And we are still learning because, among other things, we will ask the rich world to send us carbon credits because we are the ones who have to preserve their forests while the others have already burned theirs, so help us by sequestering carbon to make the world a better place,” Lula said.
The green hydrogen regulatory framework establishes Brazil’s hydrogen certification system and incentive mechanisms to increase the attractiveness of energy production projects. The government will grant 18 billion reais in tax incentives over five years to achieve the decarbonization of industry and transport. According to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, Brazil has announced green hydrogen projects worth more than 200 billion reais under the federal government’s National Hydrogen Program (PNH2). According to the 2031 Ten-Year Energy Expansion Plan prepared by the Energy Research Corporation (EPE), linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Brazil has the technical potential to produce 1.8 gigatons of hydrogen per year, with about 90 percent of that amount coming from renewable energy.
The minister explained that the idea is to bring to Brazil a technology that combines the green hydrogen industry with the production of nitrogen fertilizers. Nitrogen and hydrogen gases react with each other to produce ammonia. “The hydrogen plants will strengthen the fertilizer sector and reduce our dependence on imports,” said the minister. “These measures will give us a more modern Brazil and consolidate our leadership in the global energy transition,” added Alexandre Silveira. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are widely used in the country’s agriculture and are considered essential to supply crops with one or more nutrients. Brazil consumes 8% of world fertilizer production (an estimated 55 million tons), but imports 85% of the inputs used by the agribusiness industry.
North East
The state of Ceará is set to become the main producer of green hydrogen in the country, with a plant in the port of Pecém. At the end of last year, Fortescue, one of the largest mining companies in the world based in Australia, announced investments of US$5 billion in a green hydrogen production project in the Pecém industrial and port complex. The project has the potential to produce 837 tons of green hydrogen per day, using 2,100 megawatts of renewable energy. During the event, documents related to infrastructure and regional development were signed, such as the service contract for the start of work on the Transnordestina Railway on the route between Quixeramobim and Quixadá in Ceará. The concessionaire expects the work to be completed by 2026, connecting the interior of Piauí with the ports of Pecém in Ceará and Suape in Pernambuco. The interior of Piauí and the border regions of Maranhão, Tocantins and Bahia, a region known as Matopiba, are heavily agricultural and will benefit from the project.
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