Uruguay’s Ancap advances with US$4bn e-fuel project

A US$4bn e-fuels project in Uruguay’s Paysandú department has now moved onto the feasibility stage and construction could begin in 2024 or 2025, according to the CEO of state oil company Ancap, Ignacio Horvath.

“What we are planning is to decarbonize everything transport-related with intensive energy consumption,” Horvath told BNamericas after a speech at the Latam Mobility Conosur 2023 conference in Chilean capital Santiago. 

The project entails a facility with capacity to generate 256mn liters per year of e-gasoline by producing 100,000t of green hydrogen and capturing 710,000t of CO2.

Horvath said that this would mostly benefit heavy transport such as shipping, trucks, planes and trains. 

When asked about the country’s green hydrogen strategy, he said that Uruguay’s approach “isn’t exactly a PPP.”

“What we're doing is using the infrastructure we have already and making it available so that private investors can come and develop their projects and later give ANCAP a share,” Horvath told BNamericas.

Uruguay estimates that it could collect US$2.1bn in annual revenue through the sale of green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2040.

The country’s main hydrogen roadmap, unveiled last year, includes regulatory changes, infrastructure plans, incentives for demand and bilateral agreements.