EPM readies capital injection for Caribbean unit, eyes hydrogen exports

Colombian power company Afinia will receive a 350bn-peso (US$85mn) capital injection to help bankroll its business expansion plan, parent company Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) said on Thursday. 

In a regulatory filing, EPM said the funds would be directed toward projects in the northern departments of Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, Sucre and Magdalena. 

It did not provide details of how or when the capital would be raised. 

Last December, Afinia outlined plans to invest US$2bn over the next decade to upgrade and expand electric power infrastructure for its 1.7mn users.

EPM secured control of Afinia in March 2020 during an auction of assets belonging to the CaribeMar division of the now-defunct state utility Electricaribe.

Colombia's Caribbean coastal region has long suffered from a lack of investments in electric power infrastructure while utilities have bemoaned a culture of energy theft among some users. 

HYDROGEN EXPORTS

Meanwhile, EPM said it was stepping up plans to export clean hydrogen and ammonia. 

“EPM is committed to participating in the global market by exporting public services, exporting ammonia, hydrogen, to countries that have a very determined commitment to becoming green," EPM new business manager Dario Amar told an energy forum.

In July, EPM announced plans for a green hydrogen pilot at the wastewater treatment plant of subsidiary Aguas Nacionales in the Medellín metropolitan area.

The pilot forms part of the company’s plans for a hydrogen hub at the Ruta N innovation complex in Medellin’s northern suburbs, an initiative that seeks to promote hydrogen exports to Europe and Asia.