Industry Minister Fernanda Cardona stated no contract has been signed with the company and the government continues working on necessary conditions to advance the process. This came in response to criticism from Paysandú Mayor Nicolás Olivera, who called for faster progress on the more than two-year-old initiative. Opposition National Party leader Álvaro Delgado accused Cardona of blocking negotiations and claimed a “real risk” exists that the investment will relocate to another country.
The original proposal planned to build the facility in Constancia along the Uruguay River, but proximity to the Argentine city of Colón generated objections. Authorities now evaluate alternative sites within Paysandú department, including an ANCAP property in Nuevo Paysandú that could leverage existing industrial infrastructure. Any location change would require revisions to permits, environmental studies, logistics planning and project timelines, complicating the already extended negotiation process.
Frente Amplio President Fernando Pereira defended the government’s approach in exchanges with Delgado, questioning whether critics expected the state to “gift” energy to the private investor. The project received support across political lines during the previous administration, with then-Deputy Industry Minister Walter Verri arguing Uruguay could not afford to lose investments of such magnitude.
The synthetic fuel approach differs from pure hydrogen strategies by targeting liquid fuels that can integrate into existing combustion engine markets and established fuel distribution infrastructure. For service station operators, the technology presents a potential long-term pathway to continue liquid fuel retail operations using products manufactured from renewable electricity and biogenic carbon rather than petroleum derivatives.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
