In Brazil, Governor Tarcísio de Freitas reinforced last week the commitment of the state administration to place São Paulo at the forefront of energy transition and development of new green energy technologies. He announced the launch of the first fueling station for renewable hydrogen using ethanol in the world, in partnership between USP and the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp) and private companies in the segment.
The project is conducted by the Research Center for Innovation in Greenhouse Gases, which brings together professionals and researchers from the public sector and the private sector. The project has no commercial objectives and brings together investments in excess of R$182 million.
The plant has a building, facilities and equipment to produce 5kg/hour of hydrogen from ethanol in the first half of 2024. Production will supply three buses and a sedan car powered by fuel cells that generate electricity internally from hydrogen.
The vehicles will circulate on campus, providing more sustainability and self-sufficiency for USP – the forecast is that the first vehicle will be used later this year. The project has funding and participation from energy and automotive companies and the National Industrial Learning Service (Senai). The buses were provided by the Metropolitan Company of Urban Transport of São Paulo (EMTU), of the State Government.
