Brazilian state-controlled oil and gas major Petrobras plans to commission its inaugural pilot green hydrogen plant in the first quarter of 2026, following a BRL 90 million (USD 16.1 million/EUR 14.8 million) investment.
The facility will be located at Petrobras' Vale do Acu gas-fired plant in Rio Grande do Norte and marks the company's initial step towards future commercial ventures in the sustainable hydrogen sector, according to Mauricio Tolmasquim, Petrobras' director of Energy Transition and Sustainability.
As previously announced, the renewable energies innovation institute SENAI-ER will partner in the project, while Brazilian electrical engineering firm Weg SA has been contracted for construction.
The pilot plant will feature a 2-MW electrolyser powered by the Alto Rodrigues solar farm, which will be upgraded from 1.1 MWp to 2.5 MWp for this purpose. The hydrogen produced will be utilized for power generation and to assess the feasibility of blending it with natural gas to fuel microturbines, as well as to evaluate the performance of the turbines with this mixture.
Petrobras plans to test the electrolysis plant under various operating modes, leveraging its connection to the power distribution grid and the existing energy storage system at the facility.
