The government of the Federative Republic of Brazil (“Brazil”), represented by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the UK”), represented by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Recognising the need for the international community to strengthen international cooperation to foster hydrogen production as an important aspect of the world’s transition to a net-zero future, including through improved coordination, aggregation and simplification of international financial tools;
Acknowledging the Joint Declaration of 24 May 2023 launching the UK-Brazil Partnership on Green and Inclusive Growth to drive strengthened cooperation and dialogue on 5 pillars: climate, forest, agriculture, energy and finance;
Noting the implementation by the Government of Brazil of its National Hydrogen Programme (PNH2), a public policy conceived to develop the hydrogen market and industry in Brazil, and its potential to foster the energy transition;
Decide to launch today, 3 December 2023, in the presence of the Minister of Mines and Energy of Brazil, Alexandre Silveira, and the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, Rt Hon Claire Coutinho, the Brazil-UK Hydrogen Hub, a co-convened multilateral platform to cooperate in the development of hydrogen through coordinated, holistic and targeted international cooperation.
The main deliverable of the Hydrogen Hub will be the accelerated development of low-emission hydrogen as a viable and competitive energy option, and an expanded role for hydrogen in the global low-emission products market, supporting where relevant the respective domestic and international objectives of the countries. It will do that by capitalising on the UK and Brazil’s convening power and strategic international roles to deliver on:
- Knowledge sharing: the Hydrogen Hub will allow the UK, Brazil and other partners to learn from each other’s experiences on low-emission hydrogen;
- Bilateral cooperation: the Hydrogen Hub will facilitate access to climate finance mechanisms, technical and other forms of cooperation and partnership opportunities wherever appropriate;
- International cooperation: the Hydrogen Hub will enhance the parties’ ability to identify, align and access a full spectrum of coordinated and sustained international cooperation schemes, partnerships and investment opportunities to support a wide range of projects and activities to support the countries’ ambitions on low-emission hydrogen – particularly through PNH2, in the case of Brazil. It will draw on the combined convening power of Brazil and the UK as leading actors within international public and private hydrogen initiatives and networks.
Both governments see the Hydrogen Hub also as a vehicle to assess how international cooperation can be more responsive, and follow a country-led approach. Considering that Brazil will host the G20, the Clean Energy and Mission Innovation Ministerial, and UNFCCC COP30, the Hydrogen Hub has great potential to help foster a stronger, more responsive and more accessible global finance architecture for the energy transition.
In due course, the countries will jointly decide a workplan and range of activities to deliver based on the approach outlined above. The Hydrogen Hub’s activities will benefit from the direct support of the Leadership Group for Industry Transitions (LeadIT), and will convene and work with a wide range of other domestic and international partners as appropriate.
Signed on behalf of the Government of Brazil
Ministry of Mines and Energy
Signed of behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
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