Hydrogen is one of the fuels aligned with global decarbonization strategies for the transport sector in general and for vehicle propulsion in particular.
The Governor of Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, met in Paris with executives of the French Development Agency (AFD), to discuss various financing schemes to guide the execution of the green hydrogen generation project, the thermo-photovoltaic complex that is being developed jointly with INVAP and the 200 Mw photovoltaic plant planned in El Pongo.
The main passages of the meeting were intended for the generation of green hydrogen in Jujuy, “whose executive project will be defined in three months,” said the governor. Green H2 is applied to the refining of fossil fuels, to the production of ammonia and is also used in the steel industry, the Province said in an official part.
Daniel Zambrano, director of Electronic and Electromechanical Engineering at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE), recently told Infobae that it is a fuel that allows “to accumulate this energy” and is produced “sustainably from wind and sun”.
Hydrogen “is normally obtained by hydrolysis, but this method is inefficient when the energy source used comes from non-renewable resources. More energy is spent to obtain it than that accumulated by hydrogen. But renewable energies, such as wind and solar, play a fundamental role here, since through them it is possible to achieve a benefit that would otherwise be unsustainable.” Green hydrogen is what is obtained from these renewable resources.
“Hydrogen, a key energy vector in the decarbonization of the economy, will play a key role alongside renewable energies. To achieve this, sun and wind are needed, something that is abundant in our country,” said the specialist. Explaining the uses of this fuel, he said that “renewable hydrogen is an opportunity for the development of our country, since it facilitates the chemical storage of energy in a short space and for a long time. Until today, fossil fuels allowed large amounts of energy to be stored for industrial or mobility uses.”
Although this element has been known for decades, it has in fact been used by NASA, “for years, producing hydrogen was very expensive and emitted carbon dioxide, because electrolysis, the most widespread technology to generate it, used a large amount of electricity without renewable sources. But if it is produced sustainably, its versatility is absolute. It can be used as synthetic fuel, have industrial and residential uses.”
Reporting on Jujuy's progress in securing financing for the production of green hydrogen, Morales emphasized that “AFD will resume ties with Argentina to finance projects that are pending under the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)”, not a minor issue for the future of our country's economy, by as “other international credit agencies, including the World Bank, were also interested in allocating lines of financing for renewable energy generation projects to combat climate change,” he said. “If no agreement was reached with the IMF, financing operations would be paralyzed,” Morales warned
The French Development Agency (AFD) is a public financial institution that implements France's development policy, with a view to combating poverty and promoting sustainable development. It has a strong presence in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, where it supports projects that improve the living conditions of populations, support economic growth and protect the environment.
In 2020, the AFD group (composed of Proparco, a subsidiary dedicated to the private sector; and Expertise France) committed 12.1 billion euros to 996 new development projects in various sectors. It finances and supports approximately 4,000 projects in 115 countries. Their teams are based in Paris, Marseille and in a network of 85 agencies around the world.
Regarding other advantages that this type of energy can bring, Zambrano added that, “in the case of pure hydrogen, it can be used in fuel cells, which transform hydrogen and oxygen through a membrane, obtaining electricity and water. This can be used to drive an electric motor. This solution is much better in the case of large vehicles, where a traditional lithium battery would mean an increase in the vehicle's own weight.”
The engineer stressed that “another feasible solution for the application of hydrogen is its use to obtain, together with carbon dioxide, what is called “e-fuel” (synthetic fuel), through processes known since the Second World War. This would allow us to continue to use our internal combustion engines and the turbines of our aircraft, but with a net sum of zero carbon dioxide.”
Around the world, many companies are already developing this technology and “our country will be able to derive incalculable benefits from it. We have the necessary resources (wind and sun), and only the application of specific technology is necessary,” he said. “In countries of the European Union, the development of green hydrogen is expected to bring a large number of jobs and a real benefit to the economy,” he added.
On November 1, Australian miner Fortescue announced, following a meeting with Argentine government officials, that it will invest 8.4 billion dollars in the country until 2028 to develop a green hydrogen production project.The announcement was made within the framework of the COP26 climate summit which was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, where Argentine President Alberto Fernández met with the top managers of the Australian company. The announced disbursements will go to the so-called Pampas project, which Fortescue will develop in the town of Sierra Grande, Río Negro, where the company has already begun exploration work for the production of green hydrogen on an industrial scale.
Former NASA astronaut and nuclear engineer Franklin Chang, who develops a green hydrogen plant with his company Ad Astra Rocket in his country, Costa Rica, considered that this is a “disruptive” technological advance such as “airplanes, computers, cell phones. In a few years everything changed.” Chang, 71, explained that “green hydrogen production is based on the decomposition of water with electricity produced with clean and renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass).”
“Water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. Hydrogen, as a gas, is a powerful source of energy, rather than gasoline or a battery. We release oxygen into the atmosphere, but it could have other uses, such as tanks for hospitals,” he said.
The contribution of the use of clean energy will allow the abandonment of fossil fuels and the deepening of the path of decarbonization called for at the UN Climate Change Summits. In principle, coexistence in the use of polluting and environmentally friendly fuels is being promoted globally until a transition is completed.
The guidelines for Argentina's energy transition are outlined in “Guidelines for an Energy Transition Plan for 2030″, approved by the National Energy Secretariat in Resolution 1036/2021. According to the report, there is no single path of decarbonization. For this reason, the G20 adopted the concept of “transitions” (in the plural), an approach suggested by Argentina during 2018, which recognizes that “countries have different avenues to achieve cleaner energy systems, while promoting sustainability, resilience and energy security.
According to the report, first of all, it is necessary to clarify that there is no single path of decarbonization. For this reason, the G20 adopted the concept of “transitions” (in the plural), an approach suggested by Argentina during 2018, which recognizes that “countries have different avenues to achieve cleaner energy systems, while promoting sustainability, resilience and energy security.
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