iH2 Brasil | Portal Hidrogênio Verde

Green Hydrogen Innovation Program: iH2 Brasil

To support and leverage the development of Green Hydrogen in our country, the German government started the H2Brasil initiative, aiming to strengthen the Brazilian Green Hydrogen ecosystem. As part of this initiative the iH2Brasil Green Hydrogen Innovation Program was created.

The iH2 Brasil Green Hydrogen Innovation Program aims to strengthen the Brazilian Research, Development & Innovation ecosystem by supporting solutions for the entire Green Hydrogen production chain. The project is a production of the Brazil-Germany Alliance for Green Hydrogen, with support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

Given the growing global concern to curb climate change and its effects on the planet, several commitments to reduce CO₂ emissions have been signed. This way, as the sixth largest CO₂ emitter in the world, Brazil has committed to reduce its emissions by 37% by 2025 and 43% by 2031, also setting ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 55% by 2050.

The use of clean energy sources, those that do not use fossil fuels in their production, are one of the main ways to avoid increasing the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Brazil already has 83% of its energy matrix from renewable energies, ranking first among countries in clean energy production. This is due to its geographical and climatic characteristics that also enable the country’s potential to become one of the global leaders in Green Hydrogen, one of the main bets for the elimination of fossil fuels.

It is worth remembering that renewable energy in Brazil has generation costs that are among the most competitive in the world, indicating this same trend for Green Hydrogen.

Startups

The Startups category has the specific objective of leveraging innovative businesses and promoting open innovation through the development of pilot projects between startups and established companies. With this, 8 startups will benefit in each edition.

Other non-profit institutions

Launched in early 2022, iH2Brasil is aimed for non-profit institutions, enthusiasts and startups, through selection of project proposals in editions that will take place throughout 2022 and 2023.

Enthusiasts

The ideation program is a journey for enthusiasts to become entrepreneurs. Through a dynamic and hands-on methodology, participants work focused on deepening their understanding of the challenges and problems raised and then set out to create an innovative solution to these challenges, related to the Green Hydrogenchain!

Startups

Purpose: To leverage innovative businesses and promote open innovation.
Result: Development of a pilot project focused on the Green Hydrogen chain.
Benefits: Access to the market and support for carrying out a pilot project.
Number of participants: 24 startups (over the 3 editions).
Who can participate: Startup established in Brazil, all members over 18 years old, minimum of 3 people in the team, Incorporated CNPJ (Corporate Tax ID), billing up to 16 million reais, maximum of 10 years of foundation and validated MVP.

Other non-profit institutions

Purpose: Promote RD&I projects.
Result: Implementation of the submitted project, focused on the Green Hydrogen chain.
Benefits: Financial resource and technical support.
Who can participate: Researchers working in the Hydrogen chain that are linked to non-profit Institutions established in Brazil; with proof of fiscal and legal regularity; experience of at least 2 years in PD&I and/or Hydrogen.

Enthusiasts

Purpose: Transform knowledge into business.
Result: Creation of an MVP business model.
Benefits: Development of an entrepreneurial mindset and support for the development of the solution.
Number of participants: 24 teams of enthusiasts (over the 3 editions).
Who can participate: Entrepreneur or group of entrepreneurs established in Brazil with a minimum age of 18 years; Innovative idea focused on the Green Hydrogen chain; business model under construction.

Challenges (macro view)

All categories are based on the same 3 challenges: production, logistics and application of green hydrogen. However, each category has a unique focus, detailed in the pages dedicated to the respective categories and regulations.

Production: Green Hydrogen costs up to 3 times more than hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. With the increasing investment in renewable energies (especially wind and solar), together with technological evolution, we noticed a decrease in this cost of production. However, there are still sources of hydrogen production that are little or not yet explored, such as biomass, waste and others.
Logistics: For the use of Green Hydrogen to be effectively expanded and considered a viable option for non-polluting and renewable fuel, it is necessary that Brazil has a structure that allows the safe transportation and storage of hydrogen, from its place of production to the place of end use or places of shipment for export.
Application: The application of hydrogen refers to uses in the productive sector, mainly in green generation from renewable sources and with no carbon emission. As an example we have its uses in mobility and energy generation, offering decarbonization opportunities for all areas of the economy.

About the German-Brazilian Alliance for Green Hydrogen

The Brazil-Germany Alliance for Green Hydrogen is composed by the Brazil-Germany Chambers of Commerce and Industry of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and aims to promote Green Hydrogen in Brazil, as well as bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Germany. The two Chambers have been present in Brazil for more than 100 years and have decades of history in topics related to energy, new technologies, innovation, sustainability and energy transition.

Green Hydrogen Definition for the iH2 Brasil program

Green Hydrogen is the one produced with electricity from clean and renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, solar, biomass, biogas, etc. In other words, it is zero carbon: obtained without CO₂ emission.

Editions

First Edition: Applications from March 14 to April 22, 2022 (applications closed; in acceleration phase)
Second edition for Startups: Applications closed on September 16;
Second edition for Enthusiasts: Applications open, check the deadline;
Third edition: Scheduled for the first half of 2023.