Mexico expected to get serious about hydrogen

A set of hydrogen development guidelines could signal the Mexican government’s intent to create a national strategy, the industry hopes.

“I think it is good in the sense that before the guidelines, there was no official statement from the Mexican government in relation to hydrogen. It must be said that we don’t have a national hydrogen strategy. Therefore, we can say that these guidelines are the starting point to eventually develop a national strategy in the future,” Israel Hurtado, the head of industry association H2 México, told BNamericas.

Released by the energy ministry on March 19, the guidelines include 11 points that range from creating a regulatory framework for production and export to forming alliances and developing all forms of hydrogen, including green hydrogen from renewable sources.

“I think it's a good start. Eleven points are established to efficiently develop the hydrogen industry in Mexico. It seems to me that it addresses important points such as the issue of the construction of regulations on the matter, in short, environmental issues of production technology,” Hurtado said. 

Last year, H2 México started meetings with federal and state authorities to pave the way toward a national strategy, with an emphasis on green hydrogen. The efforts resulted in a roadmap jointly developed with PwC. However, the association is now working on an updated roadmap, he said. 

The outlook for green hydrogen opportunities appears to be promising because national electric power utility CFE and federal oil and gas company Pemex have included hydrogen in their business plans and sustainability strategies, even though President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has not shown much support for clean energy, according to Hurtado.  

H2 México representatives have met with the teams of presidential candidates Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, who are both interested in hydrogen.  

“We have talked with the energy teams of both candidates and both political projects, and their platforms consider hydrogen. Therefore, we consider that this gives us certain tranquility that hydrogen, at the end of the day, will be developed in Mexico, independently of what happens in the next few years,” said the H2 México head.

Elections are to be held June 2 and the next president will take office October 1.

Green hydrogen portfolio

So far, green hydrogen has attracted substantial investments to Mexico, with at least 16 projects worth more than US$20bn in the early stage being identified by H2 México.

Most recently, Tango Energy announced plans to invest US$1.1bn in a solar park in El Fuerte municipality in Sinaloa state. The project will produce 921MW in direct current and 787MW in alternating current, which will allow the electrolysis of 663,759m3 of water for the generation of 41,485t/y of green hydrogen.

Other projects include Danish investment fund Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) US$10bn green hydrogen plant in Oaxaca state and French company HDF Energy's seven projects in three regions of the country, demanding a combined US$2.5bn in 2024-30.

German developer Hy2gen and Campeche state agreed to explore a potential green ammonia project, which would run on off-grid wind and solar capacity to power a 200MW electrolyzer and produce 180,000t/y, according to a state press release.

Dutch fertilizer firm Tarafert also intends to build a large green ammonia, urea and hydrogen plant in Durango state, while an initiative by Dhamma Energy to blend hydrogen and natural gas in Guanajuato state is in development. 

According to a list published by H2 México, cement producers Cemex and Holcim are seeking to incorporate green hydrogen into their production processes, while CFE and Pemex are also mulling pilot programs and projects.

Overall, most projects are still in the planning phase and information regarding investments and capacity is not yet available for all.