During her visit to Montevideo on Monday 30 September, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, expressed the EU’s desire to help Uruguay position itself as a “leading green producer of hydrogen and its derivatives, such as e-fuels, e-methane and ammonia”.
The country, in which the EU is the main investor with 41% of total foreign direct investment, “has many of the attributes including high-quality, abundant and complementary wind and solar energy, advanced electricity infrastructure and a good supply of fresh water”, explained the Commissioner at the fifth European Investment Forum on Energy.
The visit was part of the implementation of the commitments of the EU-Uruguay Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy, energy efficiency and renewable hydrogen signed in July 2023 (see EUROPE 13225/1).
Last August, the country also obtained approval for the bilateral Framework Agreement with the EIB, enabling the latter to finance public and private energy projects in Uruguay, particularly in the field of green hydrogen.
Ms Simson explained that the EU would shortly be announcing funding of €2 million for the implementation of the Uruguayan Green Hydrogen Roadmap.
She also pointed out that Europe had “a strategic interest” in developing a global trade in hydrogen and renewable fuels to boost European competitiveness.
“This creates great complementarity with partner countries with strong renewables potential and interested in creating trade corridors, like Uruguay”, said the Commissioner. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)