On Wednesday, October 9, the Port of Açu won the International Association of Ports (IAPH) World Sustainability Award in the infrastructure category. The other finalists were Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC), the company that manages and operates the port of Gladstone in Australia and the Port of Bilbao in Spain.
The Brazilian port-industry complex was recognized with the case of the hydrogen and low-carbon derivatives hub. The Port of Açu hub received an unprecedented Preliminary License from the Government of Rio de Janeiro in January this year.
Açu was the only port in Latin America to win the IAPH Sustainability Awards 2024, the world’s most important recognition for the best sustainability practices in the port sector. The award was given during the IAPH World Ports Conference in Hamburg, Germany.
“The project shows our journey to establish a low-carbon hydrogen hub in southeastern Brazil, highlighting the strategic importance of ports in integrating the various components needed to decarbonize the maritime and port sectors,” said Vinicius Patel, director of Port Administration at the Port of Açu.
The aim is to develop an integrated platform for producing renewable, low-carbon hydrogen, linked to ammonia and methanol production units. The hydrogen produced at the port could be exported or used as an input for future industrial clusters of low-carbon products to be established in Açu.
The hub was planned to guarantee the environmental and social viability of a cluster of one million square meters with a capacity of 3.7 GW, integrated with Açu’s port infrastructure and industrial areas. In August and September of this year, the Port of Açu signed the first two hub area reservation contracts with the companies Fuella AS and HIF Global, respectively.
Açu is the largest private port industrial complex in Latin America, with the availability of water from multiple sources – a key factor for hydrogen projects – and export infrastructure. The project is also connected to the National Interconnected System (SIN) and can develop 100% renewable on-grid and off-grid projects, offering certified energy to meet European Union requirements.
This is the fourth time that the Port of Açu has won the IAPH World Sustainability Award.10
