Linde plans 5MW Brazilian green hydrogen plant to supply glass manufacturer

Linde plans to construct a 5MW electrolyser plant in Brazil to supply green hydrogen to a local glass manufacturer.

Set to be built by Linde subsidiary White Martins, the pressurised alkaline electrolyser plant will be located next to the existing air separation facility in Jacareí, São Paulo, using renewable energy from local solar and wind projects to produce “independently certified green hydrogen.”

Planned to start up in 2025, green hydrogen produced by the installation will be used by Cebrace, a manufacturer of flat glass, safety glass, mirrors and more, to reduce emissions from its glass-melting furnaces in Jacareí.

Glass manufacturing typically relies on natural gas and oil to melt raw materials such as sand and soda ash, emitting significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Green hydrogen can be used as a direct replacement in the heating processes, eliminating CO2 emissions.

Linde has said the Jacareí installation will also meet green hydrogen demand from existing and new industrial customers across metals, food and chemicals sectors.

Gilney Bastos, President South Latin America at Linde, said, “We look forward to helping Cebrace achieve its decarbonisation goals while also supporting merchant customers’ transition to lower carbon solutions.”

White Martins in 2022 received a Green Hydrogen Certificate from TüV Rheinland for its 156-tonne-per-year green hydrogen plant in Pernambuco.

On November 28, 2023, Brazil’s Lower House – Camara dos Deputados – passed a Bill to regulate hydrogen production, establishing a voluntary certification scheme and crucially, tax incentives.

Bill 2308/23 looks to establish the Low Carbon Emission Hydrogen Development Program (PHBC) to fund low-carbon hydrogen production with subsidies to support the commercialisation of low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives for up to 10 years.