He will be promoting Brazil’s potential at two events at COP27 this week, in a discussion on green hydrogen on Wednesday and separate panel discussion on Thursday.

Located in the Camaçari Industrial Complex (BA), Unigel’s new green hydrogen plant, in its first phase, will have a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, and 60,000 tonnes annually of green ammonia, aimed at the domestic market, when it opens at the end of 2023. In the second phase, scheduled to go into operation by 2025, the company is expected to quadruple the production of both.

The company – one of the largest chemical companies in Latin America and the largest manufacturer of nitrogen fertilisers in Brazil – is investing $120 million (BRL 650 million), during the first phase, and incorporating leading technology for high-efficiency electrolysis from thyssenkrupp nucera in Germany.

Hydrogen from ethanol production plants are set to be developed in Brazil after Shell Brazil, Raízen, Hytron, University of São Paulo (USP) and SENAI CETIQT reveal the companies have formed a partnership last month.

Under the co-operation agreement between the companies, the partnership will focus on validating hydrogen-to-ethanol technology through the construction of two plants which will produce 5kg of hydrogen per hour, with intentions of establish a plant 10 times larger at a later date.

For the production of hydrogen, biofuel will be supplied by Raízen, using technology developed and manufactured by Hytron, supported by the SENAI Institute for Innovation and Biosynthetics and Fibres from SENAI CETIQT, seeing Shell Brazil offer financial support.

The world needs Brazil to decarbonise, not only because it is the seventh largest GHG emitter in the world, but also because it is distinctly positioned to become a powerhouse in support of the global transition, according to McKinsey.

Its emissions profile is quite different from the rest of the world’s. It emits close to 2.2GT of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2eq) every year, half of which comes from deforestation, a quarter from agriculture, a fifth from transportation and energy, and the remainder from industry and waste.

Close to 80% of the deforestation takes place in the Amazon biome, driven mainly by illegal deforestation associated with a complex cycle of land grabbing of public land. To become a sustainability powerhouse, Brazil must significantly curb its deforestation and addressing the land ownership legislation is an important first step, notes McKinsey.

Brazil can play a much larger role in this transition, given its natural resources and capabilities, and take a leading global role in renewable power, biobased energy and materials, and carbon markets. Together, these avenues represent a market of over US$125bn.