With an investment of R$ 30 million, the project will be inaugurated in 2025

A key player in the energy transition in Brazil, Neoenergia is investing around R$ 30 million, from the Research and Development program of the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), in the pioneering installation of a green hydrogen plant in Brasilia, which will serve as a filling station for vehicles. The pioneering project is due to open next year. To kick off the installation, the company signed, last Wednesday (21), a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federal District Government (GDF), with the objective of reinforcing the importance of developing this new technology in the federal capital and establishing a partnership with the government to obtain the necessary authorizations

.

The ceremony was held at the Buriti Palace, headquarters of the GDF, and was attended by Eduardo Capelastegui, president of Neoenergia; Solange Ribeiro, vice-president of Neoenergia; Frederico Candian, CEO of Neoenergia Brasília; João Paulo Rodrigues, Institutional Director of Neoenergia; Governor Ibaneis Rocha; the Secretary of Government of GDF, José Humberto Pires de Araújo; and the president of CEB

Ipes, Edison Garcia.

“Brazil already has the necessary infrastructure to enable new projects that rely on renewable energy sources, such as green hydrogen,” says Eduardo Capelastegui. “The country is moving towards the establishment of a safe legal and regulatory environment so that companies can advance their investment plans and develop this market in the country”, concludes

the executive.

Brasília was chosen for strategic reasons: the country's capital is an important economic-political hub on the national scene and has a strong history linked to automotive transportation. _{There is potential for viability and visibility for the pilot project, which brings to Brazil a pioneering infrastructure for the introduction and demonstration of H2V fuel cell vehicles , with zero CO2 emissions.} The production and supply plant will also be open to contribute to research and development (R&D) of this new energy vector, in addition to offering vehicle supply capacity

.

The H ₂ V supply point in the Federal District will receive renewable energy from a 150 kWp photovoltaic plant, and will have the capacity to supply light vehicles, industrial vehicles and

_{commercial and heavy vehicles, such as buses and trucks, contributing to the decarbonization process of segments that are still difficult to reduce their CO2 emissions , such as the long-distance heavy transport sector.}

In addition to the Brasilia project, Neoenergia also has five cooperation agreements with governments and companies for green hydrogen projects in Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, and Rio de Janeiro. In addition, the company has concrete projects, with an advanced degree of maturity, involving more than R$ 500 million

in investments.

Energy vectors - A significant part of industrial processes can be decarbonized by direct electrification, but in sectors such as heavy transport, steel, chemical, food and fertilizer industries, decarbonization it must be mediated by the use of energy vectors, such as green hydrogen

and its derivatives.

For this reason, today, the Iberdrola group, the controller of Neoenergia, has more than 60 green hydrogen and/or derivative projects under development around the world, two of which have been operating since 2022 in Spain, one of which is aimed at urban mobility.

The Brasilia project is very similar to that of Iberdrola, a plant that supplies public road transport in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone, but with some specificities to meet Brazilian needs and on a smaller scale. While the Barcelona plant was designed with a single pressure supply, ideal for heavy vehicles, such as buses, the one in Brasilia can supply in two pressures. This makes it possible to cover a wider range of vehicles, such as buses, forklifts, trucks and light passenger vehicles

, for example.