MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay signs MOU to produce green hydrogen locally

In the long run, synthetic fuel could be used as a substitute for the fuel currently in use, Paganini explained

The Government of Uruguay Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company HIF for the building of a green hydrogen plant in the department (province) of Paysandú. The US$ 6 billion investment is expected to generate some 3,000 jobs.

Acting Industry Minister Omar Paganini said that although the product would mainly be for export purposes, it would end up having an impact on the domestic market.

“As the international market becomes more dynamic with these fuels, prices will go down, technologies will become more accessible and we will also be able to think about replacing oil in our country,” Paganini insisted.

The project also includes the sale of this synthetic fuel abroad. “Green gasoline for one of the shareholders of the project and also green methanol, which is a precursor of green fuels used in maritime transport. Those are the two main products of this project at the beginning,” he stressed.

Paganini further explained that in the long term, synthetic fuel could be used as a substitute for the fuel currently in use. “These are fuels that are identical to gasoline or identical to aviation fuel, that is, they allow 100% replacement, not a little bit as it is today with biofuels,” he elaborated. “What is happening is that the initial costs that are being seen in the market for these fuels are high because they are for those countries that are willing to pay an additional price to eliminate oil,” he went on.

Presidential Secretary Rodrigo Ferrés explained that now the feasibility study will begin and if the conditions are met, the investment contract will be signed. The document signed Wednesday “is nothing less than a memorandum of understanding prior to an investment contract on the part of the company HIF [which is] very important at the level of the ecological fuels industry.”

“It is an investment of around US$ 6 billion, which is going to provide many jobs for Paysandú and also puts Uruguay back on the world stage of betting on green industry developments,” he added.

“This is also very useful for the issuance of financial funds, to position ourselves as a natural country, which is at the forefront of investments in everything related to ecological products”, he also pointed out.

HIF is “a company with a very long trajectory and probably the most important investment that has been made in Uruguay up to now,” Ferrés went on. “During the construction stage, we would be talking about 3,000 jobs and more. And then at a later stage, it will go down a little, but it is very large, especially for the Paysandú area,” he stressed.

Former Presidential Secretary and current presidential candidate for the National Party primaries Álvaro Delgado highlighted the investment through social networks: “The Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a green hydrogen and renewable energy plant in Paysandú, a bet on cutting-edge technology and green fuels, which reflects the country's reliability and puts us at the forefront of the transition...”