IFC Grants $20 Mn Loan to Uruguay for Solar-Hydrogen Freight Project

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has made its first-ever global investment in green hydrogen. IFC said in a press release that the project includes a $20 million green loan provided in partnership with Grupo Santander for Kahirós, a project in Uruguay. It further explained that this announcement comes at a time when fewer than 5% of announced green hydrogen projects worldwide have reached the investment stage.

Through this loan, IFC aims to integrate solar power, hydrogen production, and electric transport into a single system. It also outlined plans to use solar energy to produce green hydrogen to power a fleet of six specially designed fuel-cell electric trucks that will transport timber to Montes del Plata, one of Uruguay’s leading pulp producers.

Purpose of Setting up Construm

IFC explained that the Kahirós project, led by a consortium formed by the Uruguayan companies Ventus, Fidocar, and Fraylog, together with Grupo Santander. The project also received financial support from the United Nations’ Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF) and is expected to begin operations by the end of 2026.

As the first integrated green hydrogen solution for freight transport in Uruguay, the project is expected to contribute towards emissions reduction in the forestry and logistics sectors and serve as a model for scaling clean technologies in other markets. The initiative is expected to lay the foundation for a new industry with the potential to generate over 30,000 direct jobs by 2040.

“Uruguay has made remarkable progress in expanding renewable energy sources, and this project represents a major step toward decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as transport,” said Alfonso García Mora, IFC’s Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. “The World Bank Group is committed to supporting pioneering and innovative projects that create high-quality jobs and serve as replicable models across Latin America and beyond.”

“Grupo Santander supports Kahirós with full confidence in its transformative potential, and IFC’s participation confirms the strength and global projection of this initiative. This partnership reflects an exemplary synergy between institutions committed to leading the energy transition and demonstrating that Uruguay can help shape the path toward a more sustainable future,” said Gustavo Trelles, Country Head of Santander Uruguay.

“It is a privilege to contribute to the kind of innovation that a sustainable energy transition requires. As we said when the project was launched, we hope this will further strengthen Uruguay’s position as a strategic hub for the development of this emerging technology and for future investments. Our goal is for Kahirós to become a regional and global reference point—one that can share lessons learned and open new opportunities,” said María José González, Director of the Kahirós Project.