Colombia, Germany open H2-Diplo Office to promote green hydrogen

This communiqué from the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia was translated from Spanish by an automated system

In response to the call of the head of state, Gustavo Petro, to “make the leap to green hydrogen” as one of the axes of its policy of decarbonizing the economy, the governments of Colombia and Germany inaugurated the H2 Diplo Office, first in the Andean region, financed by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AA) of Germany to develop green hydrogen.

The agreement includes green hydrogen derivatives and the diversification of the economy with neutral value chains.

In an official statement, the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy said that the H2 Diplo Office will be implemented by the German Development Cooperation GIZ, which seeks to strengthen the country for the use of green hydrogen.

The event took place during the 'First Colombo-German Symposium on green hydrogen and decarbonization' where the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to achieving global decarbonization.

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This is a decisive step after the bilateral agreement signed between President Gustavo Petro and the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, who spoke in June 2023 about “putting together a joint strategy to be in favor of forest conservation and promote the issue.” of wind energy, solar energy and green hydrogen.”

On that occasion, President Petro announced the creation of an energy team between the Ministries of Mines and Energy of both nations “to finalize the proposal that will have to be operated by private and public companies of the two countries so that, at "Let's not be avant-garde, let's start processes."

The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia announced that it will continue with the institutional agenda towards the generation of agreements that will allow progress in the consolidation of routes that promote the production of energy with green hydrogen in the country.

The ministry added that this “is essential to achieve global decarbonization, with the coordination between actors from the public sector, private sector, academia, civil society and international cooperation, in order to establish a baseline of challenges and opportunities that allow the development of the hydrogen ecosystem effectively and efficiently.”

Speed up processes

Another objective is to accelerate the processes, a topic that was raised in the panel 'Actions of the High Level Steering Committee of Renewable Energies and Green Hydrogen', in which the sense of urgency was specified to implement political actions that facilitate accelerating the deployment of green hydrogen between both countries and how the High Level Steering Committee plans to support its implementation.

Women leaders in the sector intervene in this project, such as Gina Elisa Lagunes representing GIZ Colombia; Constanza Correa, from the Colombo-German Chamber of Commerce (AHK); Marisella Calpa Gómez, from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and Karen Peralta, director of the Andi-Naturgas Hydrogen Chamber.

Green hydrogen production started

A study revealed at the symposium and carried out by the Colombian-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), identified 16 German companies with a commercial presence in Colombia that are already working on green hydrogen initiatives, covering the entire value chain, and highlighted the existence of more than 300 companies in Germany with solutions applicable to this sector.

In this way, wide-ranging opportunities are opened to Colombian companies in the initial stages of project development that find important support in German firms for the materialization of their initiatives.

The research maintains that Colombia has “great potential for the production of green hydrogen,” according to Mischa Groh, executive president of AHK Colombia.

On several occasions, President Petro has specified the three pillars of the clean energy matrix that allow moving towards decarbonization:

1. green hydrogen, with water and electricity produced with clean energy.

2. Mobility towards Zero carbon emissions.

3. Take oil out of production.

Colombia's role in the international green hydrogen market is projected under three main scenarios: as a recipient of advanced German technology; as a partner in cooperation projects and as an exporter of hydrogen and its derivatives to Germany.

* With information from the Ministry of Mines and Energy