Unigel Builds First Industrial-Scale Green Hydrogen Plant in Brazil

Chemical conglomerate and multinational Unigel has announced that it has installed the first industrial scale green hydrogen plant in Brazil. Unigel has invested a total of $120 million in the development of the production site for green hydrogen that relies on the Thyssenkrupp Nucera technology which it calls to be world-leading.

Unigel will start production in the plant in 2023. The multinational said that the integrated green hydrogen and green ammonia plant is expected to be the largest in the world. In the first phase of the project, it will look at installing three 20 MW standard electrolyzers from Thyssenkrupp Nucera, adding up to a total capacity of 60 MW.

Unigel said that it plans to quadruple its production of green hydrogen in the coming years. The present facility will produce approximately 40,000 tons of green hydrogen and add employment for over 500 people.

Henri Slezynger, Chairman and Founder, of Unigel, stated, “Throughout our nearly 60-year history, we have always been attentive to technological innovations and have invested to meet industrial and agribusiness demands. With this project, Unigel takes the first step towards the decarbonization of several sectors, contributing substantially to combating climate change on the planet.”

Werner Ponikwar, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Nucera, mentioned, “As Brazil is one of the world-leading countries in terms of installed renewable energy, we are pleased to enter this partnership to make green hydrogen an affordable energy vector already today.”

Set up in the Camaçari Industrial Complex (BA), the plant will boast of an initial production capacity of 10,000 tons/year of green hydrogen and 60,000 tons/year of green ammonia. The products be for customers looking to decarbonize their production chains, such as the steel industry, oil refining, and e-fuels. Green ammonia will be employed in Unigel’s value chain since it is a raw material in the manufacturing of fertilizers and acrylics.

“Given the potential of Brazil in the generation of wind and solar energy, we believe that the country has a great opportunity to be a reference for the world in green hydrogen, a solution that brings versatility to transform renewable energy into raw materials and zero carbon fuels”, said Roberto Noronha Santos, CEO of Unigel.

The energy mix of Brazil already has a very high share of renewables currently. Around three quarters of the energy used in electrolysis of the project comes from renewable sources.