Impsa to supply the largest green hydrogen project in Argentina

The Australian company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) awarded Impsa Group from Mendoza the supply of 17 masts and wind measurement instruments for its first and main green hydrogen project in Argentina, which will be installed in the province of Río Negro.

The masts, which will be exclusively for evaluation purposes, mark the beginning of the Australian group's investment in the country and position the local company in a key role for the development of this project.

In November 2021, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), FFI announced an investment of 8.4 billion dollars for this project, which aims to produce 2.2 million tons of green hydrogen. To carry out this project, it will install three wind farms in Rio Negro with a total capacity of 2000 MW, which will be responsible for generating the energy for the production of green hydrogen.

The masts that Impsa will provide will allow the company to collect all the necessary information to measure the quality and power of the winds, which are key data to determine the location of the wind farms.

"Impsa is proud to contribute to Argentina's consolidation as a leader in renewable energies and we thank FFI for its confidence in our company to carry out this project. We continue on the path of consolidating and reaffirming the leadership of this 100% Argentine company in the generation and transformation of energy in the country and the world," said Sergio Carobene, general manager of the company founded by the Pescarmona family and which currently employs more than 720 workers.

FFI is a subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group, an Australian mining company and the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. The company chose Impsa -which is in the middle of restructuring its debt- to be a key supplier of the first green hydrogen project in Argentina, which seeks to generate more investment, export and job opportunities.

Changes

Last year and after disbursing a little more than $1,362 million, the national government became Impsa's largest shareholder. It took control of 63.7% of the capital of the company founded in 1903 by the Pescarmona family, while another 21.2% of the capital passed into the hands of the provincial government after injecting $454 million into the company. The remaining 15.1% remains in private hands, of which 9.8% is held by the creditors' trust and the other 5.3% by the founding family.

It is currently working from its Technological Development Center located in Mendoza, in the design and manufacture of new turbines for the Yacyretá Hydroelectric Power Plant, wind turbines for Parque Arauco (La Rioja), equipment for the El Tambolar Hydroelectric Power Plant (San Juan), equipment for YPF and the manufacture of the first Argentine nuclear reactor for power generation.