Ceará's/Brazil as the epicenter of a global green hydrogen hub: fuel cell electricity generation roadmap

Abstract The state of Ceará in Brazil is designing a hub with the capacity to produce at least 500,000 tons of green hydrogen per year and export to Europe (Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands) on a shipping route from the Industrial and Port Complex of Pecém to the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by 43 companies from different countries and the Ceará government (i.e., green hydrogen hub) to implement projects in this hub. Thus, this article aims to map technological routes for green hydrogen production for the generation of energy from fuel cells, resulting in a technological roadmap as the main outcome. Of all the 43 companies that signed the memorandum for the Green Hydrogen Hub in Ceará, only 27.90% work with fuel cells, and 31 companies have publications that have hydrogen projects. This shows the incipience in the studies and works regarding this subject. However, a state of Ceará-led clean-hydrogen hub could have a sizeable and lasting impact on the region. Based on the estimated potential, the economic, environmental, and social benefits in 2050 could be substantial, fundamentally shaping the long-term vision of the Industrial and Port Complex of Pecém (CIPP) hydrogen hub.