According to the federal government’s National Hydrogen Program (PNH2), the low-carbon hydrogen projects already announced in Brazil total around US$30 billion. Energy sector analysts and scientists consulted by Pesquisa<\/em> FAPESP<\/em> are optimistic about the country’s leading role in this new market. \u201cBrazil meets the conditions needed to be one of the global leaders in the sector,\u201d says renewable energy specialist Ricardo Ruther, a professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and head of an experimental green hydrogen (GH2) production plant\u2014where the fuel is produced through water electrolysis\u2014recently opened by the institution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an abundance of renewable sources of wind and solar energy, which are essential for sustainable hydrogen production; an organized, competitive, and dynamic market for electricity generation from renewable sources; the industrial infrastructure needed to produce hydrogen on a large scale; and relative proximity to the European market, to which the fuel will be exported,\u201d he states.<\/p>\n Renewable, clean fuel<\/strong> The main pathway for hydrogen production is the steam reforming of natural gas, whose main constituent element is methane. The process involves subjecting methane to high temperatures in a reactor, transforming it into H2<\/sub> and CO2<\/sub>. The resulting hydrogen is not classified as sustainable because CO2<\/sub> is released into the atmosphere during the process, contributing to the increase in GHGs. For every kilogram of hydrogen (kgH2<\/sub>) produced, around 11 kg of CO2<\/sub> are emitted (kgCO2<\/sub>).<\/p>\n The various pathways for hydrogen production are commonly identified by colors, which can vary depending on the author. Usually, hydrogen produced from methane in a process that creates CO2<\/sub> emissions is called gray hydrogen, but if the CO2<\/sub> is captured, it is called blue; hydrogen produced by electrolysis is called green; and hydrogen produced using nuclear energy is called purple or pink.<\/p>\n Aware that this color classification is imprecise and has no practical application in decision-making processes for contracting in the sector, as well as the potential for regulatory problems, the IEA recently proposed a new nomenclature based on the level of emissions in hydrogen production (see sidebar, left<\/em>). This new nomenclature includes the term \u201clow-emission hydrogen,\u201d which Brazil\u2019s PNH2 program has adopted.<\/p>\n In Europe, for hydrogen to receive the low-emission label, the production process must generate a maximum of 3.8 kg of CO2<\/sub> per kg of H2<\/sub> (kgCO2<\/sub>\/kgH2<\/sub>). Brazil has not yet defined an emissions limit, but a bill currently under consideration proposes a value of 4 kgCO2<\/sub>\/kgH2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n VCG\u2009\/\u2009VCG via Getty Images <\/span><\/a> Storage tanks at China’s largest green hydrogen refinery in the northwestern city of KuqaVCG\u2009\/\u2009VCG via Getty Images <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Global production of low-carbon hydrogen is still modest. The IEA\u2019s \u201cGlobal Hydrogen Review 2023\u201d reports that 95 million tons (Mt) of hydrogen of all types were produced in 2022. Of this total, around 94 Mt was produced by thermal methane reforming, a process that emits GHGs, and less than 1 Mt was low-carbon hydrogen, the majority of which came from methane reforming with carbon capture and utilization. But the situation is expected to change in the near future. Low-carbon hydrogen production in 2030 is projected to reach 38 Mt.<\/p>\n China is leading the nascent low-carbon hydrogen market with 30% of all production, followed by the USA, the Middle East, India, and Russia, according to the IEA\u2019s annual report. Brazil’s participation is small. \u201cIt is estimated that in 2022, the country produced 509,000 tons [t] of hydrogen from natural gas and only 29,000 tons by electrolysis,\u201d says Gustavo Pires da Ponte, and engineer from EPE.<\/p>\n This volume is expected to grow in the coming years as a result of various ongoing initiatives and projects. In June, the S\u00e3o Paulo government launched a program designed to encourage the decarbonization of production chains in the state. Part of the initiative is the S\u00e3o Paulo Green Roadmap, which includes a low-carbon hydrogen program created to stimulate the state’s potential for different hydrogen production pathways.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to develop the value chain for the entire low-carbon hydrogen industry, which includes equipment, components, services, and training, without preselecting one technological pathway or another,\u201d explains Marisa Maia de Barros, undersecretary of energy and mining at the S\u00e3o Paulo State Department for the Environment, Infrastructure, and Logistics. \u201cThe goal is to stimulate the production of low-carbon hydrogen, leveraging S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s experience in the energy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span><\/a> Sugarcane: ethanol produced from the plant can be converted into hydrogenL\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n The state of S\u00e3o Paulo, according to Barros, has the potential to produce hydrogen from several sources, including ethanol and biomethane, a gaseous biofuel generated by processing waste from the sugar-energy sector. \u201cBiomethane and natural gas are exactly the same molecule [CH4<\/sub>]. The difference is that the former is of renewable origin and the latter has fossil origins. The same technology we have long used to produce hydrogen from natural gas can also use biomethane,\u201d says the undersecretary. \u201cThe challenge is to scale biomethane production.\u201d<\/p>\n The most important work on producing hydrogen from products or byproducts of the sugar-energy sector, such as ethanol and vinasse, is being done by the Center for Research and Innovation in Greenhouse Gases (RCGI), an Engineering Research Center (CPE) founded jointly by FAPESP and Shell, which has received investments of R$465 million since its creation in 2015, with R$45 million from FAPESP. The center is working on three fronts\u2014the most advanced research involves the steam reforming of ethanol.<\/p>\n In this method, the fuel is subjected to specific temperatures and pressures and thus reacts with water in a chemical reactor, resulting in hydrogen (see infographic below<\/em>). Biogenic carbon of non-fossil origin, from the sugarcane, is emitted during the process. A demonstration unit is being built at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP).<\/p>\n The project, worth R$50 million and funded by Shell, is partnered with Brazilian energy companies Hytron and Ra\u00edzen, Japanese automaker Toyota, the National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI), and USP, via the RCGI. The pilot plant, scheduled to begin operating in the second half of 2024, will have 425 square meters of floor space and the capacity to generate 4.5 kg of hydrogen per hour.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be the world\u2019s first experimental renewable hydrogen fueling station using ethanol,\u201d says engineer and physicist Julio Meneghini, scientific director of RCGI and a professor at USP\u2019s Polytechnic School. The fuel will be used in three buses and a car, all electric and equipped with a device called a fuel cell, which generates electricity from hydrogen without emitting any GHGs.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the ethanol has a negative CO2<\/sub> footprint in its production process, meaning it eliminates more carbon than it emits, then the hydrogen generated will have a negative footprint,\u201d says Meneghini. Ethanol can be carbon negative if nitrogen fertilizers are not used by the sugarcane farms and no fossil fuels are used by the agricultural machinery and trucks transporting the input. The carbon emitted in the sugarcane fermentation process also has to be captured and stored.<\/p>\n Rubens Cavallari\u2009\/\u2009Folhapress<\/span><\/a> Toyota car that runs on hydrogen generated from alcohol fuelRubens Cavallari\u2009\/\u2009Folhapress<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Thiago Lopes, project coordinator at RCGI, highlights an advantage of hydrogen generated from thermal ethanol reforming: transport logistics. Transporting the hydrogen produced by electrolysis is complex and expensive, he explains, because the gas has to be compressed in high-pressure cylinders or liquefied in cryogenic tanks (stored at extremely low temperatures), which makes it costly to ship the fuel from the production site to its destination. \u201cThis problem does not exist for hydrogen made from ethanol. Ethanol already has an established transport chain. It is much easier to transport it in liquid form than to compress or liquefy the hydrogen,\u201d says Lopes.<\/p>\n The project’s ethanol reformer was developed by Hytron. \u201cWe designed this new technology with funding from FAPESP and we have now reached a precommercial stage. By testing the equipment at USP, we will be able to advance the maturity of the technology and reach a commercial level,\u201d highlights Daniel Lopes, commercial director at Hytron.<\/p>\n The RCGI is also investigating the transformation of ethanol into hydrogen through electrochemical reforming. \u201cElectricity is used to break down the ethanol molecule, generating hydrogen in a process similar to water electrolysis,\u201d explains the project coordinator, chemical engineer Hamilton Varela, director of USP\u2019s S\u00e3o Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC).<\/p>\n According to Edson Antonio Ticianelli, a chemist who is participating in the study and is part of FAPESP’s Bioenergy Research program (Bioen), one of the goals was to replace the electrolyzer\u2019s anodic reaction, which in a conventional system is the oxidation reaction of water, with the oxidation of ethanol, thus improving the energy efficiency of the process. The researchers are investigating materials that could be used as catalysts for breaking down the ethanol molecule. Once this challenge has been overcome, the next step will be to develop an electrochemical reformer for ethanol.<\/p>\n The third line of research uses vinasse as a raw material. Every liter of ethanol produced is accompanied by around 12 liters of vinasse, a byproduct that is 95% water. Vinasse has a high potential for contaminating groundwater and emitting GHGs. To minimize these effects, it is often reused as biofertilizer for sugarcane crops. In the RCGI project, vinasse is concentrated in an electrochemical reactor to reduce the amount of water and generate sustainable hydrogen and oxygen. The group has already filed a patent for the process.<\/p>\n In addition to the three pathways investigated by RCGI, other studies in Brazil are looking into the direct use of ethanol in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this approach, the ethanol molecule is broken down to generate hydrogen in the engine of the vehicle, rather than at an independent fueling station, like in the USP project. Research in this field is being carried out at the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), with funding from FAPESP (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP issue n\u00ba 308<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n Electrolytic hydrogen<\/strong> The Unigel nitrogen fertilizer factory in Bahia intends to start producing green hydrogen on an industrial scale using wind energy at the Cama\u00e7ari Petrochemical Complex in 2024. At a cost of R$120 million, the factory will be able to produce 10,000 tons of the gas per year. The plan is to quadruple the production capacity within two years.<\/p>\n Another project already operating in the country is based at the Pec\u00e9m Thermoelectric Complex in Cear\u00e1, where the energy company EDP Brasil produces GH2 at a pilot plant with the capacity to produce 197 t per year from solar energy. The Cear\u00e1 government also intends to establish the first national GH2 hub in Porto do Pec\u00e9m.<\/p>\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/RPF-hidrogenioverde-2023-10-info1-desk-ING.jpg\")
\n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp<\/span>\n
\nThe importance being placed on hydrogen fuel is due to the fact that its calorific value is around three times higher than that of natural gas, gasoline, or diesel. Although it is abundant in the Universe, hydrogen is rarely found in isolation. It is present, however, in ethanol (C2<\/sub>H6<\/sub>O), methane (CH4<\/sub>), and other fossil fuels, in addition to water (H2<\/sub>O). To isolate the hydrogen molecule for use as an energy source to power motor vehicles or industrial procedures, these compounds have to undergo chemical processes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/RPF-hidrogenio-verde-2023-11-site-1140-03.jpg\")
\n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp<\/span>\n\n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp<\/span>\n
\nIn addition to research focused on converting biomass and biofuels into low-carbon hydrogen, other studies in Brazil are attempting to generate green hydrogen (GH2), the production of which must emit zero or practically zero CO2<\/sub> (see infographic on page 19<\/em>). There are both commercial and experimental plants, most in their early stages. At the Suape Industrial Complex in Pernambuco, industrial gas manufacturer White Martins began production in 2022 of the first GH2 certified in Brazil and in South America. Powered by solar energy, the plant can produce 156 tons of the gas per year, to be used by the food industry in the region.<\/p>\n