With the start-up yesterday of the first two low-emission hydrogen pilot projects, Ecopetrol and Promigas became the companies that lead the path that Colombia traced for the use of this energy source in the next 30 years. Just by 2030 the country hopes to become the largest exporter of green hydrogen in Latin America.
Colombia wants to compete in the international markets for low-emission hydrogen, seeking to achieve in the long term an export potential comparable in income to its current coal exports (more than US$5,000 million), Asia being its main destination.
The first steps towards becoming a benchmark were taken yesterday with the inauguration in Cartagena of the two pilots, one at the Ecopetrol Refinery and the other at the Promigas Heroic Station. These will seek to clear up doubts regarding the behavior of the supply and demand of the “energy of the future”.
Thus, in this new era that the country entered, hydrogen will move the balance and will contribute 15% of Colombia’s energy, directing the country in its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.
“A historic milestone is marked in the energy transition with the first green hydrogen molecules, the energy called to decarbonize energy-intensive industries, and the first vehicle with hydrogen cells in Colombia,” said Diego Mesa Puyo, Minister of Mines and Energy.
He added that these projects are just the beginning: “Our goal is to develop between 2 and 3 gigawatts of electrolysis for the production of zero and low-emission hydrogen in the next 10 years, with investments close to US$5.5 billion and the creation of between 7,000 and 15,000 jobs”.
For his part, President Iván Duque projected that Colombia, in the next eight years, will be the largest exporter of green hydrogen in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We will have the largest production of hydrogen applied to clean transportation and to reduce the carbon footprint of Colombian homes. The country has already launched the green hydrogen revolution and we will be the epicenter of the new fuels,” said the president.
On the road?
In fact, during the inauguration of the projects, the Toyota Mira model was presented, the first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
The vehicle manufacturer provided this car “as a model that will participate in the pilot project tests, inheriting and transferring the knowledge and experience of its technological development.”
The car produces the electricity necessary for its propulsion, combining hydrogen with oxygen, resulting in cleaner emissions.
“The Mirai has the best technology, a range of approximately 650 kilometers, a capacity of 5.6 kilograms of hydrogen and a full fueling time of less than three minutes,” Toyota said.
Ecopetrol electrolyzer
In turn, the Ecopetrol Group, with the entry into operation of a 50-kilowatt Proton Exchange Membrane technology electrolyser and 270 solar panels, began its era in the production of green hydrogen.
The project, which will be executed during the next three months and will have an investment of US$6 million this year, uses industrial water from the refinery to produce 20 kilograms of high-purity green hydrogen daily. According to Felipe Bayón, president of Ecopetrol, this test will allow the collection of information on the operation, maintenance, reliability and scalability of the technologies used.
The main objective is to evaluate the technical and environmental feasibility, as well as the performance of the generation of green hydrogen in the refinery. It will also serve to determine the impact on the use of inputs such as water and electricity.
Likewise, the green hydrogen will serve to improve the quality of the fuels produced in the refinery, for which gray hydrogen is currently used.
“Today we are the largest producer of hydrogen in Colombia, we use it to produce cleaner gasoline and diesel; however, we want to go further and that is why we announce a robust portfolio of initiatives that seek the development of the energy industry, while advancing in the reduction of the carbon footprint to meet the goal of being a company with zero net emissions by 2050”, indicated Bayón.
In total, the oil company’s annual investment to 2040 for the production of green and blue hydrogen will be close to US$140 million. In his case, hydrogen will have four applications: use in its own operations, sustainable mobility, mixing hydrogen with gas for thermal use, and new low-carbon products for the domestic and export markets.
Hydrogen in the gas network
Meanwhile, with the injection of green hydrogen into natural gas networks, Promigas is committed to generating knowledge regarding this new energy source and marks a milestone in the region.
With the pilot, whose investment was US$1.2 million, the company plans to produce green hydrogen to inject it into the natural gas network in the Mamonal area, in Cartagena, generating a positive impact on natural gas in the industrial sector and inhabitants of the area.
In the first phase, around 1,574 kilograms per year of green hydrogen will be produced which, mixed with natural gas and disposed of in the energy distribution network, will reduce the environmental footprint of the operation by avoiding emissions of six tons of CO2 per year.
The pilot plant is designed to be scaled in five growth phases, which would allow it to produce up to 15 tons of hydrogen per year, a goal that will depend on regulatory conditions, incentives for green hydrogen production and market conditions.
“More than 98% of the hydrogen produced in Colombia is obtained from natural gas. Without it, the hydrogen roadmap would not have been possible. Now we need to work on a regulation that allows us to grow in scale and that recognizes the cost of this commitment”, said Juan Manuel Rojas, president of Promigas.
And he warned that there is still important work ahead for regulation to accompany this route, since, although the Energy Transition Law announces incentives for investment in green hydrogen, Promigas might not access them because they are not yet regulated.
“So we went to the tax benefits for investment in research, development and innovation, and we achieved the incentives by achieving the positive rating of the Ministry of Sciences and the National Council of Tax Benefits,” Rojas said.
The final invitation, both from Ecopetrol and Promigas, is to work on strategic alliances that allow laying the foundations for the future production of low-emission hydrogen in Colombia.
