After Finalizing Major Deals, Ceará Government Aims to Reach Goal of Having 24 Companies Involved in the State’s Green Hydrogen Hub

Ceará Government Already Has 20 Projects for the Green Hydrogen Hub and Estimates That 4 More Contracts Will Be Signed With Other Companies, Totaling 24 Companies Involved in the Project.

The Ceará government is very close to expanding its network of companies willing to invest in the green hydrogen hub. According to Ceará’s Secretary of Economic Development and Labor, Maia Júnior, if all negotiations with the companies are confirmed, Ceará could have 24 companies investing in the new Green Hydrogen Hub.

Ceará Government Already Has 20 Companies Involved in the Green Hydrogen Hub Project

According to Maia Júnior, they are in talks with one of the companies to finalize the contracts, considering that there is a protocol phase, followed by a pre-contract phase, and only then does it move into development, where they can bring in engineering companies to detail the board studies.

Maia adds that 20 companies are interested in the hydrogen hub, with 18 already signed and 2 pending signature, as well as 4 more negotiating, so it is possible that the Ceará government could reach 24 companies. Thus, the state of Ceará will have an impressive portfolio compared to other states.

The statements were made during the seminar “Two Years of the Economic and Behavioral Activity Recovery Plan” of the Ceará government, held last Thursday (23), at the Secretary of Finance (Sefaz) auditorium. However, there is still not much information about the origins of these companies; it was announced a few weeks ago that Sedet had started talks with companies from Japan and the United States.

Elections May Impact the State’s Hydrogen Hub

The Secretary of Economic Development also emphasized that this year’s election period has led companies to lose interest in investing in the state of Ceará, especially considering long-term investments.

The list includes green hydrogen plants, offshore wind energy generation plants, and refineries. According to Maia, the attraction continues, and large companies are being received every day.

The investments in refineries, offshore plants, and green hydrogen are so huge that they require 4 or 5 years of preparation. Large plants like these, just to start operations without any incidents, cost R$ 100 million, merely to get started.

We have prepared a list of various companies that have already signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government; check it out:

• Transhydrogen Alliance;
• Linde;
• Qair;
• Hytron;
• Total Eren;
• Neoenergia;
• Cactus Energia Verde;
• Fortescue;
• Engie;
• Casa dos Ventos;
• Nexway;
• Enegix Energy;
• Diferencial;
• Eneva;
• AES Brasil;
• H₂ Green Power;
• H2helium;
• White Martins.

Understand How Green Hydrogen Is Produced

Hydrogen is a universal, lightweight, and highly reactive fuel obtained through a chemical process called electrolysis. This method uses electrical energy to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water.

Thus, if the energy for the fuel production comes from renewable sources, it is possible to produce it without emitting any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This way, this form of obtaining green hydrogen would save the 830 million tons of CO₂ that originate when this gas is produced from fossil fuels.

Replacing global gray hydrogen would mean an additional 3,000 TWh of renewable energy annually, similar to the current electricity demand in Europe. However, there are some uncertainties about the fuel’s viability due to its high production cost. Questions like these will fade as the planet’s decarbonization advances.