A consortium of companies based in Ceará is developing a prototype platform that will integrate the generation of various energy sources. Market supply will be balanced according to the seasonality of commercial demand for each type of product. The entrepreneurs have dubbed the operating model Migma Energy.
Currently under study, a pilot plant – Proof of Execution – plans to combine, on a single site and depending on the conditions in the region where it is located, production of green hydrogen, generation of energy in a thermoelectric plant, production of green methanol, ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), among other possibilities.
With initial investments estimated at between R$450 million and R$600 million and construction estimated to take around three years – counting from the date of obtaining the resources – the pilot plant may have the Capacity Auction in the form of Power (LRCAP) as an initial stimulus.
This, if it wins this competition to be scheduled by the government, but which still has no notice or scheduled date, although it is one of the main demands of the electric sector.
Font mix
The pioneering complex could feature a configuration that includes a 100 MW electrolyzer for hydrogen production, while the plant would be equipped with turbines that, together, would generate 100 to 120 MW, potentially reaching 200 MW. Modularization is one of the objectives, allowing for phased implementation.
The consortium is in negotiations with equipment suppliers and investors to raise the necessary funds for the projects, including international players, although there is no interest in exporting hydrogen. The focus is on the local market.
Northeast priority
Migma Energy's thermoelectric plant is expected to be multi-fuel. It will operate on hydrogen and natural gas, which makes the Port of Pecém (CE) the most likely location for the pilot project.
Although the platform model was created to operate anywhere in the country that offers the conditions to do so, states such as Piauí, Pernambuco, and Ceará are considered favorable candidates for replicating the platform, highlights Adão Linhares, president of Energo, the company that heads the consortium also formed by BFA Finanças e Negócios, Ceneged, and HL Soluções Ambientais.
Linhares notes that the Northeast has a large surplus of renewable energy—wind and solar—that currently faces supply bottlenecks, whether due to bottlenecks in transmission lines or a lack of load. This forces the National Electric System Operator (ONS) to resort to frequent curtailments, with serious losses to the region's generating companies.
Another attraction of the Northeast, adds the president of Energo, is the possibility of installing data centers, which are major electricity consumers. The existence of biofuel producers is another positive, he says, because the methanol currently used in biodiesel production is not clean.
Outside the Northeast, the executive points to the Port of Açu, in Rio de Janeiro, as a potential area to receive the integrated platform and even to serve isolated communities in the Amazon, as a way to decarbonize the local matrix whose electricity generation is largely guaranteed based on fossil diesel.
Strategic partnership
“The Migma Energia platform uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to monitor natural resources (sun, wind) and optimize the flow of energy, heat, and products across various processes, ensuring stable energy,” explains Linhares.
The executive, who was also Secretary of Energy for the Ceará government, emphasizes that the project's progress, however, also depends on external factors, such as greater clarity and stability in the regulation of green hydrogen in Brazil.
Among the ongoing negotiations, the consortium established a pre-agreement with the government of Piauí, through Invest Piauí – an agency for attracting strategic investments – given the strong potential integration with specific local demands, mainly for the production of methanol and stable energy.
“The state’s counterpart does not involve direct financial transfer, but rather effective institutional support, organization of local public policies and incentives aligned with the decarbonisation of the biodiesel chain and the replacement of gray methanol with low-carbon methanol,” informs Linhares
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