Colombia eyeing green hydrogen production from hydropower

Colombia could use its vast hydroelectric potential to help jumpstart the country's nascent green hydrogen economy, a leading academic told BNamericas. 

Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín and state-run oil company Ecopetrol are in the early stages of preparing a pilot that would utilize small-scale hydroelectric power to produce hydrogen for local industries and potential export markets. 

"We're looking at utilizing a micro-hydroelectric plant that is smaller than 10MW," engineering professor Andrés Amell said in an interview. 

"The consensus is that projects of this size use non-conventional renewable energy. In other words, it doesn't have any major environmental impact and can be sustainable."

Amell said Antioquia department, in the country's water-rich northwest, offered competitive advantages because of its large number of small hydroelectric plants that are already in operation. 

The department has more than 4GW of installed hydroelectric capacity from dozens of plants, many of which don't require large dams. Leading plant operators include Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), Isagén and Celsia. 

"Development of these [hydropower-to-hydrogen] projects will always be on a smaller scale because of the environmental restrictions in place," Amell said. 

Amell said the initiative sought participation from public and private sector entities and formed an extension of an existing partnership with state-run oil company Ecopetrol. 

This includes a pilot initiative that seeks to produce clean hydrogen and synthetic gas from wind and solar power in the northern department of La Guajira. The second stage of the project will produce biogas from agroindustrial waste in the department's south. 

The full interview with Amell will be published in the coming days.