Posted on 15 Oct 2024
Fortescue Future Industries’ (FFI) green hydrogen project at the Pecém industrial and port complex (CIPP) in Brazil’s Ceará state has received authorisation to start construction, Kallanish Power Materials notes.
The state governor, Elmano de Freitas, and Brazil’s vice president and minister of development, industry, commerce and services, Geraldo Alckmin, have signed a resolution approving the first phase of the Australian mining company Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary.
“This was an important step for Brazil in the energy transition market, which will allow us to have the first large-scale production of green hydrogen,” Elmano says. “This approval allows Ceará to dream and dare to be a major green H2 production hub.”
According to the Brazilian government, the electrolyser will have an initial capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. It can potentially expand to 2.1 GW. Operations are planned to begin in August 2028.
The investment, which is estimated at BRL 17.5 billion ($3.11 billion), is set to create 9,000 direct and indirect jobs, the government says.
The project will be built in a 121-hectare area of the Ceará Port, in two stages. Phase 1 and 2 should amount to 1.2 GW of capacity, and phase 3 to 900 megawatts, according to Fortescue. The hydrogen generated will be transformed into ammonia to facilitate its transport.
CIPP is set to become one of the largest green hydrogen hubs in Brazil and wider Latin America. A large volume of green H2 produced in the state will be used by the steel sector. One of the largest consumers is assumed to be ArcelorMittal Pecém. The company is already making investments to adapt its slab-producing line to hydrogen use.
In 2021, intentions to develop similar green H2 projects in Ceará were declared by the industrial gas company White Martins, part of Germany’s Linde group, and the Australian renewable energy company Enegix Energy.
Source:Kallanish Power Materials
