(PN) The National Secretary for Energy Transition and Planning of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Thiago Barral, participated this week in a joint hearing of the Infrastructure Services Commission (CI) and the Senate Environment Commission. At the meeting, he discussed the initiatives of the National Hydrogen Program (PNH2). In his speech, Barral highlighted that Brazil is seen by the world as one of the countries with the greatest potential in the hydrogen economy. However, to actually reach this position, it is necessary to make two or three large projects viable by 2030, in order to demonstrate that the country is capable of delivering projects of this type within this horizon.
“By enabling large projects and demonstrating that Brazil is capable of delivering competitive hydrogen projects within this horizon [until 2030], our vision is that in 2035 Brazil can consolidate hydrogen hubs ”, he declared. “One of the fundamental aspects, which we put into practice in the second half of last year, was the expansion of funding for research, development and innovation focused on hydrogen. Brazil already has more than US$30 billion in announced hydrogen projects and new investments are arriving in the country”, added the MME secretary.
In the context of the strategy outlined by PNH2, Brazil’s goal is to consolidate hydrogen hubs with low carbon emissions by 2035. In this sense, the Ministry of Mines and Energy is currently committed to supporting the development of these hubs, together with the corresponding infrastructure.
“Brazil has the potential to explore various technological routes for hydrogen production, especially those with low carbon emissions, due to the diversity of energy resources that our country has. With the support of the Energy Research Company, the MME has been working on planning the energy transmission infrastructure to support the development of hydrogen hubs in the country, mainly in the Northeast region, a fundamental aspect for the installation of hydrogen production plants at from the electrolysis of water”, highlighted Barral.
The secretary also recalled the MME’s work to obtain financing at competitive rates for the development of hydrogen projects in Brazil. “At the beginning of the second half of 2023, Brazil obtained access, with the approval of its Investment Plan, to concessional resources from an international climate fund, the Climate Investment Funds, to develop the hydrogen hub at the Port of Pecém. At COP 28 we signed a partnership with BNDES and the World Bank to establish a fund for investments in hydrogen projects in the country, with highly competitive rates. World Bank financing should make a series of other initiatives that we have been working on within the scope of financing research, development and innovation possible”, recalled the MME representative.
Another important point highlighted by Secretary Thiago Barral was the Hydrogen Legal Framework, currently under discussion in the National Congress. “A legal framework for Brazil is relevant to establish the bases for the exploration of natural hydrogen and also so that Brazil can count on the approval of the state to certify the quality of the hydrogen that will be produced in the country, a fundamental mechanism to support Brazilian producers in future international negotiation processes”, he declared.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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