Highly Innovative Fuels Global (HIF Global) has obtained approval for the land recategorisation it needed from Uruguayan authorities to move forward with its $6bn hydrogen-based e-fuel plant in the country.
HIF wants to build the plant on 163ha of land near the city of Paysandú in southern Uruguay.
The land recategorisation means it can begin an environmental impact assessment.
HIF said the approval came after a year of discussions with the Paysandú Municipality, the Ministry of the Environment, the National Directorate of Land Management and the Ministry of Housing.
HIF Uruguay chief executive Martín Bremermann said the project represented a “crucial institutional endorsement for the project and positions Paysandú among the leading locations globally in the transition to e-fuels. It is a very significant step that allows us to move forward with the next stages of development”.
HIF has also submitted documentation to the Ministry of the Environment for a 1.2GW solar farm in the same area, which it is calling “Lucía”. This is expected to take 18 months to build, and when complete will produce 700,000 tonnes of e-fuels a year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tonnes.
HIF Global’s overall aim is to position Uruguay as one of the world’s leading synthetic fuel makers.
It was founded by Chilean company Andes Mining & Energy in 2016, and has formed a collaboration with German car-maker Porsche.
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