Australian company to produce green hydrogen in Brazil
Australian businessman Andrew Forrest, head of Fortescue, one of the world's largest mining companies based in Australia, announced on Thursday (Nov. 9) investments of $5 billion in a project to produce green hydrogen in the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex, in Ceará, a state in northeastern Brazil.
Forrest met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Planalto presidential palace, joined by Ceará Governor Elmano de Freitas.
The project has the potential to produce 837 tons of green hydrogen per day, using 2,100 MW of renewable energy. According to information from the Brazilian federal government, the project is expected to generate around 5,000 jobs during its construction phase.
Last October, the State Environment Council (Coema) approved the Environmental Impact Study presented by Fortescue for the implementation of the green hydrogen plant and authorized the issuance of the preliminary license by the State Environment Superintendence (Semace). The company was the first to reach this stage.
Green hydrogen
The term "green hydrogen" is applied when the electricity employed in the electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen originates from renewable energy sources like wind, photovoltaic, and hydroelectric power, as elucidated by Ricardo José Ferracin, Director of Hydrogen Technology at the Brazilian Waste Energy and Hydrogen Association.
For hydrogen to bear the "green" label, it must be produced and transported without relying on fossil fuels or engaging in other environmentally harmful processes.
