Snapshot: Petrobras’ low carbon projects

Brazil’s Petrobras is advancing with the development of low carbon projects. 

On Thursday, the state-run firm announced it will build its first pilot plant to generate renewable hydrogen at the Vale do Açu thermoelectric power plant in Alto do Rodrigues, Rio Grande do Norte state. 

The project, with a total budget of 90mn reais (US$16mn) and carried out in cooperation with the Senai institute for innovation in renewable energies (Senai ISI-ER), will have the work carried out by WEG, a Brazilian company that is a global benchmark in electrification. 

The test plant is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2026.

The renewable hydrogen will be generated by electrolysis of water using solar energy, which consists of breaking down water molecules using an electric current, separating the hydrogen and oxygen.

The Alto Rodrigues PV solar plant, which was originally built for research and development purposes, will have its production capacity increased from 1.1MWp to 2.5MWp, supplying the electrical demand of the 2MW electrolysis pilot unit to be installed. 

The electrolysis plant will be tested in different operating modes, taking advantage of the connection to the electricity distribution network and the energy storage system already installed at the unit.

The hydrogen produced will be used for power generation and in studies on its addition to natural gas, feeding microturbines whose performance and structural integrity will be tested with the mixture of these two components.

Here, BNamericas outlines other Petrobras low carbon undertakings that are taking shape or being considered: 

R5 diesel and SAF

Petrobras has five refineries already producing co-processed diesel containing 5% vegetable oil, the company’s CEO, Magda Chambriard, said on Friday.  

Meanwhile, it plans to install sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production units in part of its refining park. 

CCUS

The federal oil giant is studying the deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) hubs in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Bahia states, with a combined CO2 capture capacity of 266Mt/y.

Offshore wind 

Petrobras has 37.4GW of offshore wind projects under analysis by environmental regulator Ibama, including projects in partnership with Equinor. 

CAPEX AND OBSTACLES 

Petrobras’ 2024-28 business plan foresees that its gas and low carbon energies area will receive US$11.5bn, with US$5.2bn going to solar and wind power. 

In a recent interview with BNamericas, the company’s executive director for the energy transition, Maurício Tolmasquim, said that energy oversupply in Brazil and the consequent low price in the free market are currently the main obstacles to getting renewable energy generation projects off the ground. 

In the case of offshore wind, the lack of a regulatory frame is another difficulty. The subject is currently being discussed in the national congress.