Minas Gerais: state enters the race for green hydrogen, the fuel of the future

In December 2021, Eletrobras/Furnas inaugurated at the facilities of the Itumbiara Hydroelectric Power Plant, on the border between Minas Gerais and Goiás, a study plant for the production of green hydrogen. The Research and Development project, with investments of around R$ 45 million, has already produced 1.5 tons of green hydrogen. It was the first time in the country that an H2V plant reached this accumulated production mark since the beginning of its operation. The research is regulated by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel). Its purpose is to test the storage of seasonal or intermittent energy and its insertion into the National Interconnected System (SIN).

In the south of the state, the H2Brasil project, in partnership with the Federal University of Itajubá (Unifei), develops an initiative for the application of green hydrogen with steel companies located in Minas Gerais. Innovation should be consolidated with the construction of the headquarters of the Green Hydrogen Center (CH2V), in Itajubá (MG). The project’s proposal is to test applications with greater potential for mobility, energy production and industrial use to supply vehicles from 2023.

Investments

The State Government, through the Secretariat for Economic Development (Sede), is also working on a strategic plan to make Minas an attractive environment for investments in the sector. In 2021, a government initiative, with the support of the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (Fiemg), launched the “Minas do Hidrogênio” program. The objective of the project is to stimulate and structure the production of green hydrogen in the state and to foster the fuel’s production chain.

For deputy Zé Silva (Solidariedade-MG), who participates in the Parliamentary Front for the Sustainable Development of Petroleum and Sustainable Energies, Brazil has a great possibility of reindustrialization based on the use of green hydrogen.

“Green hydrogen, both produced by renewable sources such as solar energy, wind energy, which is booming in Brazil, even that of natural gas, since in Brazil a large part of the gas produced injects half of it. So, in my view, green hydrogen will very quickly allow Brazil to become a major seller of hydrogen for export, especially to Europe, also to work on the reindustrialization of the country, the decarbonization of various sectors of the Brazilian economy”, he says.

H2V Potential

Currently, Brazil is the third country that most produces renewable energy in the world, behind only the USA and China. Data from the Electric Energy Trading Chamber (CCEE) indicate that Brazil broke a record for electricity generation through renewable sources in 2022. Last year, there were around 62,000 megawatts of energy, on average, produced per month. As a result, energy generation by renewable means reached 92%.

The high offer also places the country among the most competitive in terms of price. Data from a survey carried out by the BloombergNEF (BNEF) project Brazil as one of the only countries capable of offering green hydrogen at a cost of less than US$ 1 per kilogram by 2030.

According to the professor of materials and environmental sciences at ESEG – Faculdade do Grupo Passo, Lina Varon, the H2V chain will demand a change in the consumption of the population and a new understanding of energy consumption.

“New manufacturing processes will have to be analyzed. Where fossil fuel is used, hydrogen and renewable energy will now enter. So, large operational coefficients of this process will have to change. This demands new professions, new experiences”, he emphasizes.