1 de Março de 2024 às 18:23

RN wins 1st Center of Excellence in Professional Training for Green Hydrogen in Brazil

The structure will operate in Natal at SENAI-RN's Center for Gas Technologies and Renewable Energies (CTGAS-ER). First courses to be launched this semester

On Thursday (29), Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (SENAI) and the German cooperation agency GIZ inaugurated Brazil's first Center of Excellence in Professional Training for Green Hydrogen. The structure includes teaching stations capable of showing in actual operating conditions everything from the generation of renewable energies for the production of green hydrogen to the obtaining and practical application of the product.

The laboratory will be set up for classes, experiments, and other educational activities at SENAI-RN's Center for Gas Technologies and Renewable Energies (CTGAS-ER) in Natal. According to the institution, the first courses are expected to be launched this semester.

"What we're doing today is sowing the seeds of the future," said National SENAI's general director, Gustavo Leal, at the event's opening that marked the Center's inauguration. "Our DNA is very close to Germany, and we have GIZ to thank for the seeds it planted at SENAI," he added.

Gustavo Leal, National SENAI's general director, highlighted the hydrogen industry's job creation potential and the importance of professional qualifications: "What we're doing today is sowing the seeds for the future."

The director drew attention to Brazil's wealth of natural resources and other advantages for the energy and green hydrogen industries. He also stressed that "we need to add qualified people to work in the production chain" and to face the challenges on the horizon.

He estimated that the green hydrogen production chain will generate 4 million jobs worldwide in the coming years and that Brazil could be one of the driving forces behind this process. "Let our youth be prepared for this," he said.

Green H2 Network in Brazil

The H2Brasil Project, which gave rise to the Centre of Excellence for training professionals for the sector, also made it possible to set up five regional education and training hubs in SENAI's specialized centers in Ceará, Paraná, Bahia, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina.

CTGAS-ER was chosen as the center of excellence and technical leader of the initiative due to its accumulated experience in the renewable energy sector and the inclusion of natural gas in the Brazilian energy matrix, as well as its location in the Brazilian state that produces the most wind energy, one of the sources used to produce green hydrogen.

The development of the laboratories and the training of the instructor teams in the six states received a total of 2.6 million euros in investments, the equivalent of BRL 14 million.

H2Brasil is part of the cooperation between the governments of Brazil and Germany for Sustainable Development. It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Five men and a woman pose for a photo in front of the Brazilian and German flags.

Executives from CNI, FIERN, SENAI, and GIZ inaugurated the Center of Excellence for professional training and highlighted the potential of the green hydrogen production chain.

Growth of green hydrogen in Brazil

"This project is the fruit of Brazil's potential for producing green energy, and the activities carried out over the last three years have been very successful," said the vice-president of the H2Brasil Project, Andrej Frizler, during a speech at the event, saying that "the partnership with SENAI was significant for us to prepare the human capacity that will sustain the growth of the hydrogen industry."

The president of the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Norte (FIERN) and the SENAI-RN Regional Council, Roberto Serquiz, emphasized the importance of the state and SENAI's contributions in this context. "We're in the land of the best winds; we account for 30% of the wind energy produced in Brazil, and we're here 24 hours a day thinking about hydrogen too," said Serquiz. "We are moving from trend to reality, and the expectation," he said, "is that German-Brazilian cooperation can flow more and more and continue contributing to the decarbonization of the world."

Rodrigo Mello, director of SENAI-RN and Instituto SENAI de Inovação em Energias Renováveis (ISI-ER), recalled that "SENAI in Rio Grande do Norte began working with hydrogen more than 20 years ago, in 2003, when reformed hydrogen was still the strong suit". "Today, with a strong participation in renewable energy technology, we are convinced that our network is ready to begin qualifying people for Brazil's industry," he said. The director noted that investments in the area should be spread throughout the country.

"There are possibilities for distinct, non-conflicting, and competitive technological routes from Rio Grande do Sul to Amapá. I am convinced that each state, in its own way, will participate in this chain. Rio Grande do Norte, as our network's Center of Excellence and Technology, was responsible for coordinating this initial process of installing the infrastructure that was born in RN but already simultaneously in five other states so that our network is structured with the capacity to provide the response that this industry that is going to set up will need."

The event was attended by the International Relations Superintendent of Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI), Frederico Lamego, FIERN's First Secretary Director Heyder Dantas, CTGAS-ER Director Amora Vieira, representatives from SENAI's regional departments in various states, specialists and researchers.

The six states involved also presented the main results they have achieved with the H2Brasil Project in education.

Read more: the green H2 lab

The laboratory at the Center of Excellence in Vocational Training for Green Hydrogen includes experimental hydrogen production systems powered by solar energy modules and a wind energy micro-generator, which make it possible to carry out courses at different levels of complexity.

A fleet of miniature cars is "fueled" on-site with the so-called "fuel of the future." There are five "Fcat - Fuel Cell Automotive Trainer" models - training cars powered by fuel cells, which use hydrogen as their energy source - among the innovations available for teaching practical applications of the product.

The technology originated in Germany. Specialists from Heliocentris, the European company responsible for the equipment, set up the laboratory together with SENAI.

More on SENAI's international activities

SENAI offers professional technical training in 28 industrial sectors in Brazil, both in technological courses and at higher and post-graduate levels, and usually meets international training demands to train local students or to pass on the experience to other organizations and institutes worldwide.

To learn more about these initiatives, visit SENAI's international actions page.