据石油世界期刊3月2日蒙得维的亚报道，根据乌拉圭国有石油公司Ancap表示，如果乌拉圭能说服私营部门投资者支持利用该国丰富的可再生能源资产生产绿色燃料氢的努力，该国可能在2020年代末成为一个氢出口国。
该国政府正在为其首个氢燃料测试项目制定指导方针和激励措施，比如减税，并计划最早于本月向投资者推销该项目。Ancap董事长亚历杭德罗?斯蒂帕尼克(Alejandro Stipanicic)在接受采访时表示，今年可能会通过竞争过程选出至少一家赞助商。
利用可再生电力将水分解为氢和氧的所谓绿色氢，正在成为一种潜在的替代能源，以帮助减少温室气体。 Stipanicic称，乌拉圭有大量的清洁能源来自风能，太阳能和水力发电项目，以及深水大西洋港口，这将使该国进入主要的出口市场。
我们将把氢作为一种可再生能源引入家庭使用。 但是最大的赌注是氢出口。
Stipanicic表示，Ancap在过去10年中有6年亏损，有限的投资预算意味着其需要“创新”才能扩展到氢行业。一个向欧盟等市场出口氢的项目可能需要5-8年的时间来开发，根据今天的技术，很容易需要至少10亿美元的投资。
这家拥有89年历史的公司的前身是波特兰国家可燃酒精管理局，其已经拥有为其炼油厂生产氢气的专业技术，并在蒙得维的亚港附近拥有一块场地，可以租赁或出资组建一家合资企业。
Ancap还可以利用其作为石油行业监管机构的角色，拍卖海上风电场，这些风电场可以为生产氢气和氨的电解槽提供电力。Stipanicic称，该公司的海上石油和天然气勘探合同让该公司可以选择在第三方具有商业可行性的发现中持有少数股权，这些交易可以作为氢合资企业的模式。
过去10年，投资者在开发风能、太阳能和生物质能发电厂方面投入了数十亿美元。除了水电，他们去年提供了全国约93%的电力。乌拉圭也有大量的电力盈余，其中一些是目前出口的，但可以用来生产氢气。根据彭博社的一份报告称，电解设备的成本正在下降，将氢气转化为氨气将使海运更经济。
Stipanicic表示，这个想法是让Ancap在“氢气业务”上有某种参与。但我们不会主导投资。私营部门将进行投资。
郝芬 译自 石油世界期刊
原文如下：
Uruguay's Ancap moves toward the hydrogen clean-energy era
Uruguay could become a hydrogen exporter by the end of the decade if it can convince private-sector investors to back efforts to use the country’s abundant renewable-energy assets to produce the green fuel, according to the state-run oil company Ancap.
The government is developing guidelines and incentives such as tax breaks for its first hydrogen fuel test project and plans to pitch it to investors as soon as this month. At least one backer will probably be selected through a competitive process this year, Alejandro Stipanicic, Ancap’s chairman, said in an interview.
So-called green hydrogen, which uses renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, is emerging as a potential alternative energy source to help reduce greenhouse gases. Uruguay has a glut of clean energy from wind, solar and hydropower projects, as well as a deepwater Atlantic Ocean port that would give the nation access to key export markets, Stipanicic said.
“We are going to introduce hydrogen as a source of renewable energy” for domestic use, Stipanicic said. “But the big bet is hydrogen exports.”
Ancap has lost money in six of the past 10 years and a limited investment budget means it will need to be “creative” to expand into the hydrogen industry, Stipanicic said. A project to export hydrogen to markets such as the European Union would likely take five to eight years to develop and could easily require an investment of at least $1 billion based on today’s technology.
The 89-year-old company, formally Administracion Nacional De Combustibles Alcohol Y Portland, already has expertise in producing hydrogen for its refinery and owns a site near the port of Montevideo that it could lease or contribute to a joint venture.
Ancap also could leverage its role as oil-industry regulator to auction offshore blocs for wind farms that could power electrolyzers that produce hydrogen and an ammonia plant. The company’s offshore oil and natural gas exploration contracts give the company an option to take minority stakes in commercially viable discoveries by third parties, and those deals could serve as a model for a hydrogen venture, Stipanicic said.
Investors poured billions into developing wind, solar and biomass power plants in the past decade. Along with hydropower, they supplied about 93% of the country’s electricity last year. Uruguay also has a significant electricity surplus, some of which it currently exports, but which could be used instead for producing hydrogen. Electrolyzing equipment costs are falling and converting hydrogen to ammonia would make it economical to transport by ship, according to a BloombergNEF report.
“The idea is for Ancap to have some sort of participation” in the hydrogen business, Stipanicic said. “But we aren’t going to lead the investment. The private sector will make the investment.”
