German, Brazilian firms to invest R$12bn in green energy in Rio Grande do Norte

• Hannover Fair is a window of opportunity for Brazil
• Lula condemns ‘false claims’ about Brazilian agriculture

The announcement was made on Tuesday (21) at the Hannover Messe, the industrial fair in Hanover, Germany, at the booth of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), which is leading Brazil’s participation as the honored country in 2026.

Named Morro Pintado, the project is located in the city of Areia Branca, on the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte, and has received preliminary environmental permit from the state government for its installation. The CEO of Brazil Green Energy, Fernando Luiz Vilela, stated that with the preliminary license, the consortium of companies is moving forward to secure the necessary funding.

The project will convert green hydrogen into green ammonia, set to be exported to Germany, where it can be converted back into hydrogen. The ammonia can also be used for fertilizer production. The venture includes a port terminal for the outflow of production.

According to Vilela, over 20 banks have shown interest in the initiative, and there are ongoing discussions with the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) to help fund the initiative.

“With the preliminary license, we initiate the process of seeking funding for the project. We will assemble a financing structure, which is a rather complex financial engineering,” he said.

In parallel with the pursuit of funding, the consortium of companies also needs to ensure the investment will be financially viable. For this, it participates in a mechanism under the European Union called H2Global, a sort of auction between buyers and sellers. The structure allows for mitigating, for buyers, the higher cost of green hydrogen compared to carbon-intensive alternatives, through public financing.

More than 20 people attended the ceremony at the ApexBrasil booth at the Hanover fair, an announcement celebrated with fanfare by the agency’s president, Laudemir Müller.

“This is a concrete example of what Brazil is capable of doing. We will use our clean energy available in the Northeast. We will have hydrogen to export and consume domestically, and ammonia will serve as fertilizer. We will produce clean and sustainable energy and food.”

One of the consortium companies is thyssenkrupp uhde GmbH, a subsidiary of the German group specializing in the construction of chemical plants. The company’s director of strategic business development, Sven Mueller-Rinke, says the project is advanced and well-structured.

“We see many announcements of green projects that do not materialize, but this is a large and organized investment,” he said.

The reporters traveled at the invitation of ApexBrasil.