The president of the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex, Hugo Figueirêdo, highlights Ceará's leading position in developing the Brazilian H2V market, since the announcement of a green hydrogen hub in Pecém.
Ceará has an important role in accelerating the energy transition and becoming a clean technology center for renewable energies in Brazil. That is a projection of Hugo Figueirêdo, president of the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex (CIPP S/A). He defends Ceará should take part in the global energy transition movement through the abundant renewable energies available in the state.
The engineer with a PhD in Business Economics was chosen to take over as president of the Complex in December 2022. Located between the municipalities of São Gonçalo do Amarante and Caucaia, in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, the Pecém Complex covers an area of 19,000 hectares, generating more than 80,000 direct and indirect jobs.
His administration career includes being a president of Companhia de Gás do Ceará (Cegás), a Planning Secretary in Camilo Santana's first term as a governor of Ceará. Figueirêdo is also a professor at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), in the Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting, and holds a doctorate in Business Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands; a master's degree in Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA); and a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA).
In the following interview, Hugo Figueirêdo highlights the importance of being able to contribute to the global energy transition race which, according to him, is a transformation "that happens not once in a lifetime, but once in many generations in the state of Ceará".
Ótimo - What is your assessment of your first nine months as president of the Complex? What have been the main challenges and good surprises?
Hugo Figueirêdo - I have been working for the Ceará State Government in various capacities since 2015. Initially, as Secretary of Planning and Management, then at Cegás. Now, at the Pecém Complex, I have been given the opportunity to participate incisively in the transformation of Ceará's economy through the energy transition and the installation of a green hydrogen hub in Pecém. For me, it is a joy and an honor to have the trust of the state's top managers, governors Elmano (de Freitas), Izolda (Cela) and Camilo (Santana), to be able to contribute to this transformation, which happens not once in a lifetime, but once in many generations in the state of Ceará.
Ótimo - What is the importance of an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and what does it mean for the state's economy?
Figueirêdo - Export processing zones, in general throughout the world, are an instrument of industrial development. They are reserved areas where companies can set up and do their export business basically free of tax. In this way, it is possible to attract new businesses to certain reserved areas that can export and develop the surrounding area. Including the production chains of the states and countries and thus promoting the local development of the region.
Ótimo - How does it directly impact the Pecém Complex?
Figueirêdo - To understand the importance of the EPZ for the Pecém Complex, we must understand why Ceará's export processing zone was created ten years ago. At that time, the state was in the process of attracting two structural projects for the development of its economy: the steel mill and the refinery. In order to attract them, it was necessary to build a port, but in addition to the infrastructure for these ventures, it was also necessary to provide export tax incentives, mechanisms that would encourage these large ventures to set up in the CIPP region. And it was because of the port infrastructure and also Ceará's Export Processing Zone - the first in Brazil and to this day the largest and most advanced one - that Ceará was able to attract a steel mill to the Pecém region. At the time it was Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), now ArcelorMittal Pecém.
Ótimo - With the Green Hydrogen House, the Complex is home to the first projects in this area in Brazil. How many Memorandums of Understanding have been signed with the state government so far and how many companies are interested in producing and consuming green hydrogen?
Figueirêdo - Ceará already has 32 memorandums of understanding signed and three pre-contracts signed with the companies AES, Casa dos Ventos and Fortescue. These three pre-contracts signed alone sum up US$8 billion in investments. These three companies have until 2024 to make a decision and sign definitive contracts.
Ótimo - What is your projection for the installation of the hydrogen production unit and the export of this component?
Figueirêdo - By 2030, the estimated production of green hydrogen from the Pecém Complex should reach 1.3 million tons/year, with a potential to meet 25% of Rotterdam's import demand.
Ótimo - How has the Complex been working towards a sustainable energy transition?
Figueirêdo - The Port of Pecém has already taken steps in this direction, giving discounts for sustainable ships, for example. The water used in the hydrogen production process will be reused, which will make our H2V even more sustainable. The ships will transport hydrogen using green fuels. Shipping companies around the world are studying how to make this happen, so that the entire logistics chain related to H2V uses zero carbon emissions.
Ótimo - Have the international companies that are setting up hydrogen plants in Ceará shown any interest in the domestic market?
Figueirêdo - This export production is only the beginning. In the long term, we hope to not only export, but use part of this hydrogen for domestic consumption and, in this way, follow the world's energy transformation targets. The green hydrogen hub has the potential to transform the reality not only of large companies installed in Pecém, but also of small renewable energy producers. It is an opportunity not just for big businessmen and investors, but for the population of Ceará, including small energy generators in the interior of the state.
Ótimo - The Dutch government has announced the conversion of wind energy into green hydrogen in the North Sea. How are the negotiations to access this European market?
Figueirêdo - The Port of Rotterdam is our shareholder, it owns 30% of Companhia de Desenvolvimento do Complexo Industrial e Portuário do Pecém (CIPP S/A). In this process of installing the H2V hub, we are preparing to produce and export hydrogen, while they are preparing to receive and distribute it to the European market. The Port of Pecém and the Port of Rotterdam will be the closest H2V export/import route between South America and Europe. This was reinforced by the Green H2 Corridor agreement signed by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and the Governor of the State of Ceará, Elmano de Freitas, in May this year.
Ótimo - With the energy industry, we will see a revolution in the job market. What will be required of professionals working in the Pecém Port Complex?
Figueirêdo - The initial amount of investment should double the number of direct and indirect jobs in the region, which currently stands at 80,000. Ceará is nationally renowned for its education. We have 87 of the top 100 public elementary schools; 23 of the top 100 public high schools; and we are the second state with the highest grades of Enem 2022 essay exams. Students from Fortaleza account for 36% of all those who pass the ITA (Aeronautics Institute of Technology). These are just a few of our 2022 figures. We will have a trained workforce to take advantage of the opportunities that are to come. The difference is that these professionals will have the opportunity to stay in Ceará and no longer seek opportunities abroad.
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