Petrobras to build renewable hydrogen pilot plant

In Brazil, Petrobras will build its first pilot plant for generating renewable hydrogen at the Vale do Açu Thermoelectric Plant, in Alto do Rodrigues, Rio Grande do Norte. The project, with a total budget of R$90 million and carried out in cooperation with the Senai Institute for Innovation in Renewable Energy (Senai ISI-ER), will be carried out by WEG, a Brazilian company that is a global leader in electrification. The test plant is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026.

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