Uruguay expects green hydrogen to invoice US$1.7 billion in 2040

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – More than 30,000 jobs and a turnover of US$1.7 billion per year make up the horizon that the Uruguayan Government proposes for 2040 in the green hydrogen market, an alternative energy source for which the South American country has “significant potential”.

This was stated this Tuesday by the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini, who presented the roadmap for green hydrogen in Uruguay together with his colleague from Environment, Adrián Peña, and the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, in the Torre Ejecutiva (seat of government).

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Paganini assured that it is a new export sector that would mean income for the country similar to that of afforestation.

The minister explained that green hydrogen and its derivatives “can become an important sector for economic development and export that generates foreign currency” that allows Uruguay to “become more independent of oil.”

“The world is trying to get out of the geopolitical dependence (…) it has on hydrocarbon energy and, in this sense, developed countries and regions are betting heavily” on hydrogen derivatives, Paganini said.

In this sense, he indicated that the Scandinavian countries and Germany have already been interested in the Uruguayan project, as well as the Netherlands, since green hydrogen exports would enter Europe through the port of Rotterdam.

“It is a long-term strategic commitment,” which will also allow the “decarbonization” of some internal sectors that still depend on fossil fuels, such as long-distance freight and passenger transport, as well as some industries, the minister explained.

Specifically, he indicated that his portfolio analyzes 10 proposals that were submitted to the call launched in March to finance, with up to US$10 million, research, innovation and training projects in green hydrogen, to advance in this second energy transition.

The geographical conditions contributed to the fact that, since 2007, solar, hydraulic and wind energy grew in Uruguay to the point of modifying its energy matrix and becoming one of the most outstanding countries in the world in this transition towards renewables.

Paganini also reported that there is already a project with an export profile that plans to be installed in Tacuarembó (north) for the generation of fuels derived from hydrogen.

Like this one, his portfolio foresees investments of “hundreds of millions of dollars in the first four or five years”.

However, Paganini assured that these projects have a “significant commercial risk” and, therefore, the companies will assume the risks and the State will facilitate the conditions of legislation and infrastructure that guarantee the logistics to attract investments.

The document presented establishes the government’s work plan to promote this sector until 2040 and is open to consultations and contributions from companies, academia and civil society until August 15.

In this way, Uruguay, recognized in 2020 by the World Economic Forum as the most advanced American nation in the electrical energy sector, continues to seek carbon neutrality by 2050.

With information from EFE