White Martins has started operations of the first green hydrogen plant in the Southeast region of Brazil, located in Jacareí, São Paulo. The facility will supply 800 tpy of green hydrogen to customers in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais.
The output of the new plant will be allocated as follows: 20% to glass manufacturer Cebrace and 80% to customers in the metallurgical, food, and chemical sectors. This is White Martins’ second green hydrogen (GH2) plant in Brazil and has a production capacity five times greater than the first unit, which began operations in December 2022 in Pernambuco. With both plants in operation, White Martins reaches a total production capacity of approximately 1000 tpy of GH2.
“Contributing to the decarbonisation of Brazilian industry is a commitment of White Martins, and we believe green hydrogen plays a fundamental role in this process. That is why we applied our expertise in the development of this project with the goal of enabling supply at competitive prices for the Southeast market, which is the industrial heart of the country,” said Gilney Bastos, President of White Martins and Linde in South America.
In line with customer decarbonisation efforts, it is expected that with the availability of green hydrogen in the region, Cebrace alone will reduce emissions by approximately 1610 tpy of CO2. For the Jacareí plant, it is estimated that more than 8000 tpy of CO2 will no longer be emitted compared to the production of grey hydrogen, for example.
For large scale GH2 production at this facility, White Martins invested in the construction and operation of a 5 MW pressurised alkaline electrolyser. The construction of the plant and installation of the electrolyser took 10 months. The unit is powered by renewable energy, and the green hydrogen produced will undergo a certification process in accordance with internationally recognised standards.