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Casa dos Ventos and Comerc sign a memorandum with TransHydrogen Alliance for the production and export of ammonia

TransHydrogen Alliance
February 9, 2023
  • The agreement foresees the export of green ammonia produced in the Pecém Complex, in Ceará and integration of the supply chain to the Port of Rotterdam.
  • The plant has the potential to produce 2.4 million tons of ammonia per year.

Casa dos Ventos, a renewable energy company, and Comerc Eficiência, an energy efficiency company of the Comerc Energia Group, signed a partnership with the TransHydrogen Alliance (THA, of which GES is a founding member together with Proton Ventures and Trammo), whose objective is to create new supply chains for the energy transition of European countries. The purpose of the agreement is to enable the export of green ammonia produced in the Industrial and Port Complex of Pecém (CIPP), in Ceará. The plant is to be built on a 60-hectare site with a capacity of up to 2.4 GW of electrolysis, producing 960 tons of hydrogen per day, and with all phases implemented, will enable the production of 2.2 million tons of ammonia per year.

Today the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop a viable partnership targeting production of the first phase for export to Europe through the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands in the year 2026.

Expand low carbon energy solutions abroad

“We want to use the abundant renewable resources in Ceará and neighbouring states to expand our low carbon energy solutions abroad”, says Lucas Araripe, CEO at Casa dos Ventos. The company and Comerc have already signed a pre-contract with the CIPP. “We are joining forces with a group of companies that will be able to contribute to the technological development of the project and with a portfolio of international clients”, explains Araripe.

Green hydrogen and ammonia

“The essence of Comerc is the energy transition, combining economy, excellence, and sustainability in all its solutions. And together with Casa dos Ventos and THA, through green hydrogen and ammonia, we take an important step towards decarbonization, both nationally and globally” says Marcel Haratz, President of Comerc Eficiência. “Green hydrogen is the fuel of the future, but it is already a reality and a global trend. So, we will be at the forefront with a project of this size and partnered with European companies it puts Brazil in a leading position to become an important player in the sector”, concludes Marcel.

Pecém the most promising place

“With the vision that Brazil can be a global power in the production and export of green hydrogen through leveraging one of the cleanest energy matrices in the world, the THA chose Pecém as one of the most promising places to produce and supply green hydrogen to Europe. By combining forces with Casa dos Ventos and Comerc, we provide industry-leading skills and capabilities across the entire value chain, from renewable energy supply, hydrogen and ammonia production technology, storage and logistics, maritime transport, and delivery to customers in the port of Rotterdam ” notes Paul Baan, CEO of THA.

Production market in Brazil

Brazil occupies a prominent place in the green hydrogen and ammonia market. It is one of the few countries in the world where the characteristics of the energy matrix allow the production of competitive and large-scale renewable energy, as well as its derivatives. Surveys indicate that the green hydrogen production market in Brazil could be between US$ 15 billion and US$ 20 billion annually by 2040.

About the Casa dos Ventos

Casa dos Ventos is a Brazilian energy company that develops, builds and operates energy generation projects from renewable sources. Responsible for the largest wind measurement campaign ever adopted in the world, the company developed one in every four of the wind projects in operation in Brazil today. To grow its leading position in the sector, Casa dos Ventos has the largest portfolio of wind and solar projects in the country, with approximately 20 GW of planned capacity. The company is also a leader in offering customized solutions to support the energy transition of large consumers. Recently, Casa dos Ventos announced a joint venture with TotalEnergies (TTE) to jointly develop, build and operate its renewable portfolio in Brazil, including hydrogen and green ammonia projects.

Casa dos Ventos is a signatory of the UN Global Compact and works aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the best ESG practices, preserving local bio-systems, developing social projects in the communities where it is present and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

www.linkedin.com/company/casa-dos-ventos-energias-renov-veis/

www.instagram.com/casadosventos/

About Comerc Energia Group

The Comerc Energia Group is the most complete Platform for Renewable Energy and Decarbonization Solutions in Brazil. With more than 20 years of experience and with a portfolio under management composed of around 4.1 thousand consumption units, the company achieved in the first 9 months of 2022 revenues of R$ 3.0 billion. Currently, the Comerc Group’s structure is anchored in four business verticals, bringing together in its portfolio centralized renewable generation, distributed generation, energy commercialization, energy efficiency, sectorized metering and management of consumers in the free market. Together these solutions make the path to decarbonization feasible.

Agência de Comunicação do Grupo Comerc Energia

Leandro Saltini – (11) 99615-4573 – lsaltini@jeffreygroup.com

Glauco Figueiredo – (18) 99661-2015 – gfigueiredo@jeffreygroup.com

About the TransHydrogen Alliance

The TransHydrogen Alliance (THA) is a consortium formed in early 2021 by Proton Ventures, GES, Trammo DMCC and Varo Energy. Participating in the Pecém project are:

  • Proton Ventures has engineering capabilities across the entire project lifecycle and value chain: with expertise in the design and development of green H2 and NH3 production and storage facilities.
  • Global Energy Storage (GES) is a specialist in the development, construction and operation of terminals worldwide. GES is developing a new clean NH3 import terminal in Rotterdam, which will integrate with the supply chain of Pecém.
  • Trammo DMCC is the largest independent international ammonia trader: using its existing fleet and accessing its customer base

www.transhydrogenalliance.com

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Chris started his career in HSE while serving in the Royal Air Force, which he continued after leaving the service and working for the Ministry of Défense, specializing in oil and gas storage and construction.

 He left the public sector in 2012 and continued his career in the private sector, joining VTTI as projects HSE manager, where he worked on oil and gas projects in Kenya, Cyprus, UAE, South Africa, Croatia and Nigeria before joining GPS.

 He joined the GPS Group in December 2018 and is subsequently the HSE Director responsible for all of the GES Group’s construction and development projects as well as providing guidance and support to existing operations.

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After finishing her MBA, she started as a trainee at Vopak, where she joined the Commercial team of the Chemical Terminals in Antwerp for five years. Martine subsequently joined VTTI, being part of the Management Team of their Amsterdam terminal and thereafter became responsible for the Commercial and Customer Service activities in the ARA region. After five years, Martine started her own consultancy firm. She contributed to the successful realization of several projects at Vesta Terminals, VTTI, MarTest Cambrian and Vattenfall, ranging from operational excellence to contract management.

Martine joined GPS in 2017 as the General Manager of the GPS Amsterdam terminal and has thereafter fulfilled the role of New Projects and Commercial Manager EMEA for GPS, and GES since its formation. Her areas of expertise include project sourcing and execution, including permitting, project management and operational excellence.

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Graham started his career in the commodities sector, first at Marc Rich and then as a co-founder of Trafigura, where he led the oil trading team until his retirement.

 

More recently, he was a Senior VP for international trade at TNK-BP and, for eight years, Chairman of Puma Energy. In addition to his role with GES, Graham is also a Senior Advisor to Oliver Wyman and is an active investor in the renewable energy sector, having sat on the board of a number of successful start-ups.

 

Graham joined as independent Non-Executive Director of GES in 2021.

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Andy gained experience in operations, logistics and supply chain management before he moved to Shell’s London headquarters in 1991 where he was deeply involved in Shell’s downstream strategy and in the globalisation of supply and trading activities. In 1998 Andy joined the downstream MandA team and was responsible for a number of multi-billion dollar deals.

For the last 7 years of his Shell career Andy led the international business development team for Shell Trading. On retiring from Shell in 2013 Andy joined Bluewater PE as a consultant. He co-founded GPS in 2016 and was its executive chairman until the end of 2020 when he became a Non-Executive Director.

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Prior to joining GPS, Yujun was a Specialist with American President Lines (“APL”), where she was involved in financial planning & analysis, due diligence, and asset management of APL’s global operations department.

Before APL, Yujun was a Senior Executive with both global and Asia regional headquarters of NYK Line. In NYK, she worked on global procurement and cost control, management reporting, as well as various process optimization projects.

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Soffiee was involved in Peninsular Gas Transmission PGU 2&3, MLNG Tiga Bintulu, Idku LNG Egypt, Pluto LNG Australia, Iran LNG, Shell Australia (downstream assets), Ain Sokna Refrigerated LPG Egypt and Chemaweyaat Abu Dhabi.

Soffiee’s roles in the above projects included feasibility studies, FEED, Detail Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning and Operations (PGU 2&3 and MLNG Dua) of the assets. In VTTI, Soffiee was involved in BD for terminal projects in Myanmar, Penang, ATB, Indonesia, Australia, and Vietnam.

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Pal Pasztrai

Vice President M&A

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He joined Global Petro Storage Group (“GPS”) in January 2019 and is currently focusing on GES’s M&A activities, primarily outside of Asia.  

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Prior to Blue Water Energy, Pal was an Investment Banking Analyst in the EMEA Diversified Industries & Real Assets team at J.P. Morgan in London.

Pal holds an MSc in Finance from Corvinus University Budapest and also a Masters in International Management from the National University of Singapore (CEMS MiM).

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Business Development Director, Asia

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After graduating from University Technology Petronas in Malaysia with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he went to work for Shell Malaysia, where he was part of the downstream supply chain optimization team.

Mani subsequently joined MISC Berhad, a shipping subsidiary of Petronas and worked in a small team to develop (building) the chemical fleet for MISC’s Chemical Business Unit.  He led the commercial DD for MISC while acquiring the 50% stake in VTTI from Vitol ($850mm) in 2010. 

Upon acquisition of VTTI by MISC, he joined VTTI in 2012, in BD, working on numerous projects in Africa and LATAM.  During his career in VTTI, he developed projects for VTTI in the USVI, Pakistan, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and notably the Burgan Cape Terminal in South Africa.

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Chief Technical Officer

Mark Synnott, a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, started his career with BP before moving to Horizon Terminals and then VTTI.  He joined the GPS Group in December 2016 as the Technical Director responsible for the Group’s construction and technical aspects of development works as well as providing technical advice to existing operations. At GES, he is responsible for overseeing all technical matters of the Group, including executing projects, technical support of business development efforts, and supervising major procurement and maintenance plans.

Over a period stretching nearly 30 years, Mark has been directly responsible for developing close to 5 million m3 of storage across the globe, having spent significant time in the Far / mid-East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

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Prior to GPS Group, Sim served as treasurer for VTTI, the global oil storage terminal operator. He joined VTTI at the start up stage, was instrumental in the growth of the terminal portfolio, and was responsible for arranging multi-million-dollar bank financing, to fund the expansion of VTTI. He also played a key role in taking VTTI public in 2014, and subsequently bringing VTTI to the US Private Placement market for a debt refinancing deal in 2015. Sim also held leadership roles in Vopak and ABB Lummus.

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Alan Hyslop

CFO

Alan has over 25 years’ experience in M&A and corporate finance. As Chief Investment Officer of GES, Alan is responsible for arranging the funding, execution and structuring of projects in GES’s strong pipeline.

Alan joined GPS in Singapore in January 2019 as Corporate Finance Director, where he has the same responsibilities as his GES role. For the previous 10 years, Alan worked for private equity owned businesses in Corporate Finance and CFO roles, including Apollo Towers, a large telecom infrastructure business in Myanmar, where Alan was Head of Corporate Finance.

Prior to that, Alan was a private equity investor for over 15 years with Dubai International Capital, Prudential and 3i.  He has led and managed numerous PE investments, acquisitions, and fundraisings with a transaction size of up to $1bn. 

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Eric Arnold

Executive Chairman

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Eric has nearly 40 years of storage and logistics experience. Eric started in the storage and logistics industry directly from university in 1982 in GATX in the US, learning terminal operations and engineering. After obtaining an MBA, his career developed commercially and as a leader. He spent 8 years establishing Vopak’s joint ventures in both Shanghai and Malaysia.

Eric was recruited as COO of the VTTI Group in 2007, where he was based in Holland and was responsible for the global operations of the Group across Argentina, Belgium, Latvia, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Kenya, Russia, the UAE, and the USA. In 2009 he became the Managing Director of VTTI Asia.

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Peter Vucins

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After graduating from Delft University of Technology with a master’s degree in engineering, he worked for Vopak in Rotterdam, where he was part of the business development team for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Peter subsequently joined Mercuria, one of the world’s largest independent energy trading companies, and worked in a small team to build out its midstream asset portfolio, including the storage terminals that were named as “Vesta Terminals”, of which 50% was divested to Sinomart KTS Development Ltd (part of Sinopec) in 2012.

After having held several senior roles (including Managing Director of the largest terminal of Vesta located in Antwerp, and Chief Commercial Officer for the group), Peter was appointed CEO and was responsible for leading the company, until he left to join GPS Group, where he is responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a function which he currently retains in parallel with being the CEO of GES.