Colombia has established itself as a regional and worldwide leader in energy transition, with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and the International Energy Forum (IEF) naming it as one of the market’s most important players. of zero and low emission hydrogen.
Colombia was listed for the first time on the world map of hydrogen trade routes in the report of the International Energy Forum, as one of the four Latin American exporting countries (Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina).
According to the Hydrogen Route, Colombia has the potential to become one of Latin America’s leading exporters of green hydrogen by 2030, thanks to the characteristics of its winds, solar radiation, water resources, and geographic location, all of which are required inputs for the production of hydrogen for domestic and international consumption.
Irena, on the other hand, stated that Colombia has the potential to have the fourth lowest green hydrogen price in 2050 (1.1 dollars per kilogram of hydrogen), trailing only China, Chile, and Morocco.
Irena and the IEF also highlighted the launch of Colombia’s first two green hydrogen pilots, which have been in operation since March 18 and were carried out by Ecopetrol and Promigas in the city of Cartagena.
Furthermore, the Colombian oil business intends to build two large-scale projects at Reficar and the Barrancabermeja Refinery. They will have a 60-megawatt capacity and will begin operations between 2025 and 2026.
In Colombia, one of the goals of the Hydrogen Route is to create 50 kilotons of blue hydrogen and one to three gigawatts of installed electrolysis capacity to produce green hydrogen.
The development of hydrogen is expected to help the country to save between 2.5 and 3 million tons of CO2 over the next decade, with investments in this sort of project attracting between 2,500 million and 5,500 million dollars by 2030.
In Colombia, Fenoge received 58 proposals for funding for hydrogen projects
The Fund for Non-Conventional Energies and Efficient Energy Management (Fenoge) received 58 applications to fund pre-investment studies for zero and low-emission hydrogen projects in Colombia as part of a call it conducted.
” Because of its capacity to decarbonize businesses that consume a lot of fossil fuels, zero- and low-emission hydrogen is the future of the energy transition.” That is why, as part of the Hydrogen Roadmap, we have already launched the first two pilot projects in the country to create green hydrogen, allowing the country to fully exploit the potential of this new energy vector,” stated Vice Minister of Energy Miguel Lotto.
The Fenoge is identifying projects in Colombia that take advantage of the abundance of water, wind, and solar resources; its power generation potential for green hydrogen production; the use of existing hydrogen in various operations, for the implementation of capture and storage systems for blue hydrogen, and notable participation of the academy.
“We will continue to work on all fronts, teaching, raising awareness, and contributing to hydrogen knowledge management, as well as channeling and catalyzing the greatest amount of resources to support the financial closings of these projects and facilitate their bankability,” said Katharina Grosso Buitrago, Fenoge’s executive director.
The More Hydrogen Colombia call’s final findings will be published on the Fenoge website on June 17.
