The Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining highlighted the country’s achievements in the framework of its second energy transition.
The strategy of Uruguay for a second energy transition, with green hydrogen at the forefront, has already begun to bear “real fruits”, according to what he said the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), Omar Paganini, who insisted that the potential in this area “It is infinitely superior to what we are going to need”, in reference to domestic consumption.
Among the achievements, Paganini highlighted that the global average of fossil fuels in energy matrices is 80%, while in the country the 40%, that is to say half. In addition, he highlighted the historic investment of more than 4,000 million dollars to build a green hydrogen plant in Paysandú.
During the Sustainable Uruguay Expo, organized by the Ministry of the Environment at the Antel Arena, the head of MIEM stressed that the pillar of the second energy transition aims at “the decarbonization of transport and industry”, but also to the exploitation of green hydrogen and especially its derivatives.
It was within this framework that Paganini considered that the country has “great potential” by highlighting its track record in renewable energy and the ability to increase its production capacity, but also “for the institutional stability that characterizes it and for the availability of biogenic CO2, the basis for an alternative to fossil fuels.” For the minister, there is a market of countries that demand this production and he stated: “Uruguay can play this game.”
“The road is to derivatives of hydrogen first and not towards hydrogen alone”, summarized Paganini, who insisted on the need to “consolidate a market that differentiates us from other countries”, after which he highlighted the Green Hydrogen Sector Fund.
The investment for the Paysandú plant that shows the “real fruits”
The minister celebrated the construction of a green hydrogen plant in Paysandú, which included an investment of 4,000 million dollars, the largest in the country’s history, by the Chilean company HIF Global. “We can say that the strategy is beginning to bear real fruit,” said the chief.
Along the same lines, he valued the country’s position in that market and stressed that “we already have the interest of top-level companies,” which is why he called to “continue working to make it happen,” by focusing on issues such as environmental guarantees .
Regarding the possible start date of this type of project, he set the term “2030 or before” and was encouraged to dream of advancing with the ammonia, green fertilizers and even in the green steel industry, considering that “it is an absolutely new export sector”, which will also generate employment for tens of thousands of people. “All this, bringing foreign currency and technology, and positioning Uruguay,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
