EN 
PT_BR 
The Government of Rio Grande do Sul and the company Enerfín do Brasil, from the Spanish group Elecnor/Enerfín, signed, last Thursday (24), an MOU (memorandum of understanding) for the development of a green hydrogen project in the state.
This is the second agreement signed with the aim of exploring green hydrogen in Rio Grande do Sul. In December last year, a partnership was signed with the company White Martins.
The text of the memorandum defines as objectives the development of a potential green hydrogen project in Rio Grande do Sul, the identification of opportunities for project development in the Port of Rio Grande and the establishment of the intention to find opportunities to jointly develop a project of green hydrogen production.
Furthermore, it aims to seek other opportunities related to the area of energy or electrification of industries linked to the green hydrogen project and enable cooperation and synergies between the parties to identify possible regulatory and fiscal obstacles and opportunities for the development of a green hydrogen project.
“It’s a great opportunity for the state. We are mobilizing all government forces to lead and build conditions for RS to leverage this vocation. We are looking for companies to present the reasons why we see this opportunity in RS to implement a green hydrogen plant and to build relationships that allow us to prove the viability of this investment in RS”, said Governor Eduardo Leite.
According to the government, the state has carried out studies to make a transition to decarbonization through the use of green hydrogen, creating a new branch in the economic matrix of high technology and added value. Today, Rio Grande do Sul already operates with 80% of renewable energy, with around 20% of wind energy.
“Signing this memorandum is a gesture towards the future. The available port, the wind potential, our industries and also the diverse uses that hydrogen and ammonia can have in other activities, such as the fertilizer industry, give our state a unique opportunity in terms of producing green hydrogen compared to others States. And it is in an effort to demonstrate and have proof of this capacity that we are signing this memorandum of understanding so that we can develop, together, studies and projects in this direction”, explained Leite.
The use of green hydrogen is in line with the commitment made by Rio Grande do Sul to neutralize carbon emissions in the state by 50% by 2030, a target also assumed by Brazil in the Paris Agreement.
In November 2021, Governor Eduardo Leite was at COP 26 (United Nations Conference on Climate Change), in Glasgow, Scotland, to reaffirm the state's commitment. Furthermore, in October, the governor visited the headquarters of Enerfín, the wind energy subsidiary of the Elecnor Group, in Madrid, Spain.
Enerfín is a subsidiary of the Elecnor group, a Spanish company with proven experience in the development, installation and operation of wind farms in several countries. In Rio Grande do Sul, Elecnor implemented the Osório Wind Complex, the first large wind farm in Latin America, an international reference in the generation of renewable and sustainable energy.
Enerfín's new business director for Latin America, Marco Antônio Morales highlighted the confidence in the partnership and the state's potential to develop the project. “We believe that this energy revolution that the world needs will happen, and we are delighted to do this for the first time here in Rio Grande do Sul. We want to implement this project here for all possibilities of domestic consumption and export, and we want to reaffirm the confidence that the group has in the state”, he said.
The location seen as an option to receive the project is the port of Rio Grande, in Rio Grande. It is the largest industrial district in Rio Grande do Sul, with 2,580 hectares, available retro areas, a strategic and privileged position, which presents synergy with production chains. Furthermore, it has logistical advantages, such as production flow and reception of raw materials. In 2019, before the pandemic, the flow was more than 3 thousand ships.
“We had an excellent meeting at Enerfín headquarters, in Madrid, Spain, which culminates today in the signing of this memorandum. We were looking for companies with expertise in the generation of renewable energy that could contribute to the development of this project. We have a well-consolidated strategy and, together with the municipality of Rio Grande and the port of Rio Grande, a project to transform our port into a starting point for this project”, detailed Artur Lemos, chief secretary of the Civil House,.
The document was signed by governor Leite, by the secretaries Artur Lemos (Civil House), Guilherme Souza (deputy for Environment and Infrastructure) and Edson Brum (Economic Development), by the director of Inland Ports at Portos RS, Bruno Almeida, and by the director of Enerfín's new business for Latin America, Marco Antônio Morales.
