By Nicolás Misculin and Agustin Geist

BUENOS AIRE (Reuters) – Andrew Forrest, the Australian mining billionaire, is thinking of investing up to $8.4B in “green hydrogen” in Argentina. The South American country’s government announced Monday that this was the result of a meeting between Forrest with President Alberto Fernandez.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (OTC:) Ltd, which Forrest is a key backer for green hydrogen, a zero carbon fuel that’s made from electrolysis with renewable power. It can be split into hydrogen and oxygen by using the electricity generated by electrolysis.

It is more expensive than comparable fuels but backers see it as an alternative for fossil fuels that are difficult to decarbonize. International Renewable Energy Agency predicts rapid growth in the coming years.

Fortescue is looking at developing the project in the province of Río Negro with a view to producing green hydrogen on an industrial scale, which the government said would help create more than 15,000 direct jobs and additional ones indirectly.

“It is expected to turn Río Negro into a global green hydrogen export hub by 2030,” the government said. It is “the most significant international investment our country has made in the past 20 years.”

According to it, Fernandez and Forrest met in Glasgow on the sidelines at the COP26 climate summit.

Fortescue Future Industries (the mining firm’s unit for green energy) did not immediately reply to my request.

An analysis will be done by the Australian company on both local resources and wind availability. This is its main source of energy for power production. If all goes according to plan, the public would be consulted and work on construction could begin.

The $1.2 billion Pilot Stage is being planned to generate 35,000 tonnes of hydrogen. It will be completed in 2022-2024. A $7.2 billion First Productive Stage will produce approximately 215,000 tons. This amount of hydrogen would power approximately 1.6 million homes.