{"id":438677,"date":"2022-05-30T13:52:43","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T16:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=438677"},"modified":"2022-05-31T13:37:20","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T16:37:20","slug":"brazil-prepares-to-start-producing-green-hydrogen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/brazil-prepares-to-start-producing-green-hydrogen\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil prepares to start producing green hydrogen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil is attempting to make its mark in the global GH2 (G for green and H2 for hydrogen) sector\u2014GH2 is a clean fuel that could potentially meet the demands of the electrical and automotive markets with a low environmental impact. EDP Brasil, one of the country\u2019s biggest energy suppliers, plans to begin operations at a pilot GH2 plant in S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo do Amarante, Cear\u00e1, by the end of this year. Hydrogen will be obtained by water electrolysis, a chemical process that uses an electric current to decompose water molecules (H2<\/sub>O) into their constituent elements of hydrogen (H, forming H2<\/sub>) and oxygen (O, forming O2<\/sub>), When renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biomass, are used to conduct the electrolysis process, the resulting hydrogen is classified as green. EDP\u2019s plant will use photovoltaic energy and will be capable of producing 22.5 kilograms (kg) of hydrogen per hour. The anticipated investment is R$41.9 million.<\/p>\n

Often touted as the fuel of the future, hydrogen has a high calorific value, almost three times higher than diesel, gasoline, and natural gas. When transformed into energy\u2014to power a combustion engine or any other application\u2014it does not emit any greenhouse gases (GHGs). Waste hydrogen released into the atmosphere makes contact with oxygen, resulting in water vapor.<\/p>\n

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe, but it is rarely found in isolation on Earth. It is present, however, in numerous compounds, including water, fossil fuels, and various types of biomass. Different processes are used to obtain the gas from these compounds. The most common is steam reforming, a chemical reaction of hydrocarbons, usually natural gas, with water. Hydrogen produced this way is called gray hydrogen, since the production process releases CO2<\/sub> into the atmosphere, or blue hydrogen if the resulting CO2<\/sub> is captured and geologically stored.<\/p>\n

The green hydrogen produced at the Cear\u00e1 pilot plant will be used to substitute some of the coal that currently supplies the Pec\u00e9m Thermoelectric Power Plant. \u201cThis research and development [R&D] project will give us a greater understanding of the energy gains provided by hydrogen, which has more than four times as much energy as coal,\u201d says Cayo Moraes, operations manager at EDP.<\/p>\n

The GH2 pilot plant will also allow the company to observe the technical, regulatory, and economic feasibility of producing the fuel. It is hoped that the plant will support the decision to later create one that operates on an industrial scale. If the plan comes to fruition, hydrogen could be used for vehicle fuel, exporting to European energy companies, or supplying industrial companies.<\/p>\n

The project is seen by experts in the energy sector as the first of a series of initiatives aimed at producing green hydrogen in Brazil. The state government of Cear\u00e1 alone has already signed 14 agreements with private groups interested in producing the fuel in the state. \u201cMaybe not all of them will make it. But if half of the agreements are fulfilled, we will have the energy equivalent of the Itaipu Dam operating in Cear\u00e1 between 2025 and 2030,\u201d says Roseane Medeiros, executive secretary of industry at the Cear\u00e1 State Department for Economic Development and Labor (SEDET). The Itaipu hydroelectric plant, the largest in the country, has a capacity of 14 gigawatts (GW).<\/p>\n

Rio Grande do Norte, Piau\u00ed, Pernambuco, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul have also reportedly signed agreements with energy producers. The race to attract green hydrogen production projects is a global one. Chile, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, South Korea, Australia, and China are just some of the countries that have announced programs designed to stimulate the technological development and production of GH2.<\/p>\n

Tiny share<\/strong>
\nThere are plans for 520 hydrogen plants worldwide, according to the Hydrogen Council, an association that represents the world\u2019s largest hydrogen producers. If all go ahead, they will require investment of US$160 billion altogether. The association estimates that production of the fuel will exceed 600 million tons per year (mt\/year) by 2050, which will cover 22% of the world’s energy demand, allowing a 20% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. The projections made by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are more modest. It forecasts that the sector will produce 409 mt\/year in 2050, which according to its calculations, will account for 12% of global energy demand.<\/p>\n

Currently, hydrogen\u2019s contribution to the world\u2019s energy mix is negligible. Almost all of the hydrogen produced\u2014just over 100 million tons per year\u2014is used for chemical purposes in industrial processes, such as oil refining, fertilizer production, steel mills, and the chemical industry.<\/p>\n

Specialists predict that the most popular means of producing GH2 over the coming years will be water electrolysis\u2014the same method proposed for the pilot plant in Cear\u00e1. It will primarily be adopted by plants equipped with electrolyzers (the equipment used in the electrolysis process) supplied by renewable energy sources, ensuring that the entire process is GHG-free (see infographic below<\/em>).<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n \n \n \n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso<\/span><\/div>
\n

One of the main barriers to greater global green hydrogen supply is the need for technological maturity in the hydrogen production chain, according to the report \u201cGeopolitics of the energy transformation: The hydrogen factor,\u201d released by IRENA in January. Another is the high cost of production and logistics.<\/p>\n

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), one kilogram of gray hydrogen costs just over US$1, which makes it competitive with natural gas. Blue hydrogen costs an average of US$2.3 per kilogram. A kilogram of green hydrogen, meanwhile, costs between US$3 and US$8, depending on the energy source used and where in the world it is produced. IRENA predicts that the growing availability of renewable energy and increased production scale will make green hydrogen competitive with blue hydrogen by 2030, with production costs approaching those of gray hydrogen over the following decade.<\/p>\n

According to Brazil\u2019s 10-year Energy Expansion Plan, formulated by the Energy Research Company (EPE), an institution linked to the Brazilian Ministry for Mining and Energy, the country is in a position to produce green hydrogen at a lower cost than the international average. The cost of GH2 in Brazil\u2014estimated because none is actually produced in the country yet\u2014is between US$2.2 and US$5.2 per kilogram.<\/p>\n

\u201cHydrogen will grow in popularity out of necessity. We are experiencing an environmental emergency and the world has already realized that relying solely on fossil fuels to generate electricity and fuel vehicles is no longer possible,\u201d says Paulo Em\u00edlio Valad\u00e3o de Miranda, director of the Hydrogen Laboratory at the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (COPPE) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and president of the Brazilian Hydrogen Association (ABH2).<\/p>\n

Electrolyzers<\/strong>
\nOne way of reducing the cost of hydrogen production is to increase the efficiency of electrolyzers. At the Functional Materials Development Center (CDMF) at the Federal University of S\u00e3o Carlos (UFSCar), one of the Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) funded by FAPESP, researchers study materials capable of reducing energy consumption in the chemical decomposition process of the water molecule. As explained by the project\u2019s research director L\u00facia Helena Mascaro Sales, some of the best catalysts\u2014substances that increase the speed of chemical reactions in electrolysis\u2014are noble metals, especially platinum. Nickel, cobalt, or molybdenum can also be used highly effectively in association with iron alloys or as sulfides.<\/p>\n

The UFSCar team is studying the use of materials such as titanium oxide modified with molybdenum sulfide, as well as different alloys composed of nickel, copper, molybdenum, and iron. \u201cOn a laboratory scale, we have demonstrated that it is possible to significantly reduce energy consumption in the water electrolysis process,\u201d says Mascaro. British-Dutch oil company Shell, which together with FAPESP funded a research project on dense energy carriers in which Mascaro is also involved, is interested in testing the catalysts at pilot plants in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Houston in the USA.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jasper Jacobs\u2009\/\u2009Belga Mag\u2009\/\u2009AFP via Getty Images<\/span>A car being filled with hydrogen at a fuel station in Antwerp, BelgiumJasper Jacobs\u2009\/\u2009Belga Mag\u2009\/\u2009AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

At the Federal University of Cear\u00e1 (UFC), Professor Adriana Nunes Correia from the Department of Analytical and Physical Chemistry is also investigating metals capable of increasing electrolyzer efficiency and reducing costs. Her research, still in its initial phase, will use microbial electrolysis cells, with microorganisms as biocatalysts, to produce hydrogen from domestic sewage or industrial effluents. The idea is to transform the chemical energy of the sewage into an electric current, which can be used to obtain the gas. \u201cThe process would make it possible to produce hydrogen while at the same time treat organic waste,\u201d says Correia.<\/p>\n

Research on green hydrogen is also being carried out at the Federal University of Paran\u00e1 (UFPR). Helton Jos\u00e9 Alves, head of the Renewable Energies and Materials Laboratory, is studying new technological methods for producing the fuel. One uses acidogenic bacteria to degrade residual biomass from industrial effluents.<\/p>\n

His work has already resulted in two articles published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<\/em> on the production of hydrogen from brewery wastewater. \u201cThe major advantages are that it reduces costs and saves water,\u201d says Alves. The process could be useful for the industry that generates the effluent to produce its own hydrogen as an energy supply.<\/p>\n

Another way of producing hydrogen is a method known as biogas dry reforming. Alves explains that the approach uses the methane and carbon dioxide present in biogas to generate synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The process takes place in reactors with nickel-based metallic catalysts, at a temperature of between 700 and 800 degrees Celsius. The synthesis gas is then purified to obtain hydrogen. \u201cTogether with our partners, we intend to build a pilot plant capable of producing 1 kg of hydrogen per hour in 2022,\u201d says Alves. Unlike conventional natural gas steam reforming systems, dry reforming does not require water.<\/p>\n

The study of hydrogen production methods that do not require pure water is of great interest to professionals in the sector, who are closely monitoring research in the area. According to IRENA, the production of 409 million tons of green hydrogen per year to supply 12% of the world’s energy demand in 2050 will consume somewhere between 7 billion and 9 billion cubic meters of water per year. The total is less than 0.25% of current freshwater consumption. It may not seem like much, but it is a significant volume in a world where water is becoming more and more scarce.<\/p>\n

Projects<\/strong>
\n1.<\/strong> Research Division 1 \u2013 Dense Energy Carriers (n\u00ba 17\/11986-5<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Energy Research Centers; Agreement<\/strong> BG E&P Brazil (Shell Group); Principal Investigator<\/strong> Ana Fl\u00e1via Nogueira (UNICAMP); Investment<\/strong> R$8,282,252.10.
\n2.<\/strong> CDMF \u2013 Functional Materials Development Center (n\u00ba 13\/07296-2<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs); Principal Investigator<\/strong> Elson Longo da Silva (UFSCar); Investment<\/strong> R$34,869,423.03.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles<\/strong>
\nSANTOS, H.L.S. et al<\/em>. NiMo-NiCu Inexpensive Composite with High Activity for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction<\/a>. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces<\/strong>. Mar. 27, 2020.
\nSALOM\u00c3O, A.C. et al<\/em>. Towards highly efficient chalcopyrite photocathodes for water splitting: the use of cocatalysts beyond Pt<\/a>. ChemSusChem<\/strong>. Aug. 19, 2021.
\nARA\u00daJO, M. A. et. al<\/em>. Improved Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Gas Generation on Sb S Films Modified with an Earth-Abundant MoS Co-Catalyst<\/a>. ACS Applied Energy Materials<\/strong>. Jan. 13, 2022
\nARANTES, M. K. et al<\/em>. Treatment of brewery wastewater and its use for biological production of methane and hydrogen<\/a>. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<\/strong>. Sept. 22, 2017.
\nESTEVAM, A. et al<\/em>. Production of biohydrogen from brewery wastewater using Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from the environment<\/a>. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<\/strong>. Feb. 15, 2018.
\nALVES, H. J. et al<\/em>. Overview of hydrogen production technologies from biogas and the applications in fuel cells<\/a>. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<\/strong>. Mar. 17, 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Businesses and academia aim to put Brazil on the sustainable gas map by backing the fuel of the future","protected":false},"author":538,"featured_media":438685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[211,207,227],"coauthors":[1346],"class_list":["post-438677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-biochemistry","tag-bioenergy","tag-energy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438677"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439284,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438677\/revisions\/439284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438677"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=438677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}