Petrobras will build its first pilot plant for renewable hydrogen production

Petrobras will build its first pilot plant for renewable hydrogen generation at the Vale do Açu Thermoelectric Power Plant, in Alto do Rodrigues, Rio Grande do Norte. The project, with a total budget of R$ 90 million and carried out in cooperation with the Senai Institute for Innovation in Renewable Energies (Senai ISI-ER), will have the works carried out by WEG, a Brazilian company that is a global reference in electrification. The test plant is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2026.

The renewable hydrogen will be generated by the process of electrolysis of water using solar energy, which consists of breaking down water molecules by means of an electric current, separating hydrogen and oxygen.

This is a key pilot project in the company’s strategy to invest in decarbonization. It is the first step towards future commercial initiatives in the sustainable hydrogen segment. The production of renewable hydrogen from the electrolysis of water using solar energy not only reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, but also promotes the use of abundant and sustainable natural resources in the country.

The Alto Rodrigues Photovoltaic Plant, which was originally built for research and development purposes, will have an expanded production capacity from 1.1 MWp (Megawatt peak) to 2.5 MWp, meeting the electrical demand of the 2 MW electrolysis pilot unit to be installed. The electrolysis plant will be tested in different operating modes, taking advantage of the connection with the electricity distribution grid and the energy storage system already installed in the unit.

The hydrogen produced will be used for energy generation and in studies on the addition of natural gas, powering microturbines whose performance and structural integrity will be tested with the mixture of these two components. It is worth mentioning that Petrobras is the first Brazilian company to study the effects of adding renewable hydrogen to natural gas in microturbines.