Shell, Raízen to lead ethanol conversion to hydrogen initiative in Brazil
The firms have partnered with Hytron, USP and SENAI to develop production facilities and a fueling station for buses to circulate around the University of São Paulo.
Shell and its licensee in Brazil, Raízen, have signed a cooperation agreement for the production of renewable hydrogen from ethanol. The other parts involved are Hytron, a subsidiary of the German Neuman & Esser Group; the University of São Paulo (USP); and the Centro de Tecnologia da Indústria Química e Têxtil (SENAI CETIQT). The initiative involves the construction of two plants for production and a fueling station for buses to transport students around USP.
The partnership aims to validate the production technology through the plants, designed to produce 5 kg/h of hydrogen and the implementation of a plant 10 times larger in the future. The buses used by students and visitors to the campus will no longer use diesel and traditional internal combustion engines but rather hydrogen produced from ethanol and engines equipped with fuel cells.
“This technology can be easily installed at conventional gas stations, without requiring changes in the distribution infrastructure, ensuring that hydrogen will be ready to fuel vehicles quickly and safely. The use of hydrogen is not restricted to the transport sector and will benefit other segments in Brazil, when it comes to replacing fossil energy sources,” said Alexandre Breda, Low Carbon Energy Manager of Shell and Vice Executive Director of the Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation.
The project is scheduled to start operating in 2023, with its aim set to the development of low carbon solutions for heavy transport with the first hydrogen ethanol fueling station in Brazil and in the world. Hydrogen will be produced using biofuel supplied by Raízen and a technology developed and manufactured by Hytron with support from SENAI CETIQT’s SENAI Institute for Innovation in Biosynthetics and Fibers, and Shell’s funding.
