The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mininga (MIEM), the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU), selected the nnine profiles of the first stage of Green Hydrogen Sector Fund.
The ongoing call seeks to support the implementation of a pilot project that lays the foundations to replicate ventures and business models on the subject of green hydrogen and thereby contribute to accelerating the energy transition and the development of markets.
To this end, the fund will finance and support the production and use of green hydrogen and its derivatives, for purposes that include heavy cargo or bus transportation, e-methanol, e-kerosene, green fertilizers and blending with natural gas.
support will be of up to US$ 10 million in the non-reimbursable financing modality. The benefit awarded will be distributed within a period not exceeding 10 years from the start of the plant’s operation. Priority will be given to projects that propose an early entry into operation, whose deadline will be December 2025, reported the MIEM.
In its first phase, the fund called for the presentation of profiles between April 8 and June 8. 10 profiles were received, of which nine were shortlisted:
MIEM
In the next stage, the complete formulation of the project will be received before November 17, 2022.
The call is open to different possibilities in terms of renewable energy source, scale and location. The minimum scale of each initiative will be 1.5 MW of power in the electrolyser. The project may be considered as the initial phase of another, scalable in a subsequent stage, it was explained.
On the other hand, in June the government presented the roadmap for the development of green hydrogen in Uruguaya long-term strategy that seeks to consolidate the country as a supplier and exporter of this product and its derivatives.
The document presented affirms that taking into account the potential of resources and the established goals, by 2040 the production of hydrogen could approach one million tons per year. This will require an installation of 20 GW of renewable energy and 10 GW of electrolyzers.
german visit
This week the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini, accompanied by a team of advisers, received this week the visit of a delegation of authorities from the German city of hamburg, including its mayor, Peter Tschentscher. The meeting focused on investment opportunities in green hydrogen offered by Uruguay and other possibilities for cooperation in this area.
Minister Paganini explained to the German delegation the advantages that Uruguay has for the production and export of green hydrogen, and emphasized the importance for Uruguay of attracting private investors who find incentives here to develop their projects, within the framework of a stable and with proper regulations. At least one medium-scale project is expected to start production by 2026 or 2027.
The hierarch emphasized the importance that an agreement with Hamburg and its port would have for Uruguay. “This will allow our strategy to develop, as we need partners (…) It is a business that should be thought of as a great association at an international level”, affirmed Paganini.
