Uruguay publishes a green hydrogen roadmap: production potential of USD 2 billion by 2040

Uruguay's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) published on 14 June 2022 an implementation plan for green hydrogen and its derivatives, developed with the private sector, the academic community and civil society organisations. According to the MIEM announcement, by 2040 Uruguay could earn about USD 2 billion in revenue and create over 30,000 jobs in this sector. The work had technical support from the state companies UTE and Ancap and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the 14 June presentation featured, among others, Minister Omar Paganini and Minister of the Environment Adrián Peña.

Why Uruguay

The country has an electricity mix based to a very high degree on renewable sources, mainly hydro and wind, which favours the production of low-carbon hydrogen. The plan is an implementation document developed with the participation of the private and academic sectors; detailed applications and quantitative targets must be checked in the full text of the document, which we were unable to open.

Direction of action

The plan indicates actions for developing the domestic market and exports, including support for demonstration projects and work on regulations and standards. For investors, what will be key is: access to cheap and green energy sources, port infrastructure and certification consistent with the requirements of the target markets.

Link to biogas

In the summaries available to us we found no references to biogas. In general, worldwide, biogenic CO₂ from fermentation and biogas upgrading is considered as a feedstock for synthetic fuels (e.g. methanol) produced from green hydrogen, but we have not confirmed that the Uruguayan plan provides for this.

Why it is worth watching

Uruguay has a small domestic market, so the success of projects will be decided by export or by applications in a few large industrial plants. The roadmap is therefore important both for local investors and for foreign technology suppliers who are assessing the regulatory conditions.

Status of the document

The June 2022 version was the first version of the roadmap, open to public comment; comments could be sent to hidrogeno@miem.gub.uy until 15 August. Targets and actions could therefore change in the final version.

What this means for Poland and Europe

For the EU, South American countries with a high share of renewables are potential suppliers of e-fuels and hydrogen derivatives. Uruguay, with a high share of renewables in electricity generation, is an example of a country that can aspire to the role of supplier of green hydrogen and derivatives, provided that buyers and certification consistent with the requirements of the target markets can be secured. The details, however, require verification in the MIEM document.