The Government of Río Negro, the National Government and the multinational company Fortescue Future Industries, signed an agreement today to advance in the search for possible sites in the province, with the aim of developing, financing, building and operating Green Projects that mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Governor, Arabela Carreras; the Minister of Productive Development of the Nation, Matías Kulfas; and the CEO of Fortescue Future Industries, Julie Shuttleworth, who joined by videoconference, were the highest representatives of the framework agreement, sealed this morning in Buenos Aires.
In this way, the three parties agree to work collaboratively in the development of a platform for the production of knowledge and research that optimizes existing capacities, with the aim that the Green Projects achieve the economic, environmental and socially required results. for its materialization.
“I want to thank the Fortescue company and the entire Río Negro team that has been a protagonist in the previous process and that will have the responsibility of giving legislative continuity to this beginning that we are taking,” emphasized Governor Carreras.
“We had already been working in Río Negro on general hydrogen and on green hydrogen in particular with a team of scientists who have been developing research for many years, and with the expectation that it will reach the necessary stage of technological maturity at some point,” he added.
For his part, the Australian ambassador to Argentina, Brett Hackett, highlighted the importance of the agreement and considered Río Negro as a progressive government committed to the environment: “As two of the great southern countries we share many of the same challenges of change. climate and looking to the future, these challenges will transform our economies and developments as nations. In Argentina, both the National Government and that of Río Negro are recognized as progressive governments, committed to long-term economic and environmental sustainability, that is why this partnership is very logical ”.
In addition, he added: “To reach an agreement like today’s one, it takes more than a vision and commitment, it is about recognizing that in many aspects the future is already here and the hydrogen economy has already arrived and there are few countries like Argentina and Australia to meet both domestic and global demand for clean energy. We started a new partnership, with enormous potential, and this will be beneficial for both countries, but it will also have benefits on a global level ”.
The executive director of Argentina Fortescue Future Industries Sociedad Anónima, Agustín Pichot, stressed that “we are talking about a new industry that will take care of future generations, it is a moment to take care of the problem and provide a solution with something as simple as it is green hydrogen. It will be difficult to achieve it, but I have no doubts that Argentine professionals will help us ”.
The agreement
Once the possible location of Green Projects has been agreed, the Provincial and National Governments will promote conditions for the company of Australian origin to carry out the feasibility studies and subsequently, the corresponding development, financing, construction and operation instances.
Similarly, the parties agreed to drive the growth of clean industrialization and develop multiple technologies. Meanwhile, the company will be in charge of training all human resources, which will primarily come from Río Negro, as well as the development of strategic local suppliers.
This agreement will be implemented through a work team, made up of two representatives from each of the parties, who will meet once a month, with the aim of coordinating all communications between the company and the Provincial and National Governments, to advance in Green Projects.
The executive director of Argentina Fortescue Future Industries Sociedad Anónima, Agustín Pichot; the national senator, Alberto Weretilneck (by videoconference); the national deputy, Luis Di Giacomo; the Australian Ambassador to Argentina, Brett Hackett; the Secretary of Industry of the Nation, Ariel Schale; the Rio Negro Minister of Economy, Luis Vaisberg; the Secretary of State for Energy, Andrea Confini; and the general secretary, Daniel Sanguinetti. Also in a virtual way, several referents from the scientific, environmental and research sectors followed the act.
Investor in Río Negro
Fortescue Future Industries is a multinational infrastructure and resources company, committed to achieving a leadership position in the protection of climate change and promoting the use of electrical energy from renewable sources to produce, from it and in a sustainable way, different Green Projects : green hydrogen, green nitrogen, green ammonia, fertilizers, green metals and all their derivatives.
To do this, it has invested and will continue to invest steadily in conducting studies for the development of knowledge, technology and the implementation of large-scale Green Projects, with the aim of generating significant changes in the global energy matrix, leading to the decarbonization of the energy and fight global warming.
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