New Icpet will promote the future of Colombia's energy transition

Machine translation was used to publish the following Ecopetrol release

The Innovation and Technology Center - ICP, the country's main technological research and development complex, becomes the Colombian Institute of Petroleum and Transition Energies (Icpet), which will have the mission of promoting the energy transition in the country.

The transformation of the now known ICP was announced during an event in Piedecuesta, Santander, with the presence of the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro Urrego; the Minister of Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho; the president of Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa Barragán; and the members of the Company's Board of Directors.

Icpet will focus its knowledge, capabilities, infrastructure and 39 years of experience on leading scientific research and technological development to promote the energy transition, and the search for efficiencies in hydrocarbon production in the country.

“The Icpet is not leaving Santander, it is staying in Piedecuesta, and from today it is transformed into the great center of development, research and technology for the energy transition, that is our great bet,” stated the president of Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa Barragan.

An estimated investment by 2030 of more than 816,000 million pesos is expected to strengthen its scientific and technological infrastructure. The institute's headquarters have a total area of 30 hectares, where its 34 pilot plants and 29 laboratories are located.

The Icpet modernization plan, which will be developed in four phases, will be aimed at increasing the efficiency of its research processes, through the use of cutting-edge technologies to leverage hydrogen, renewable energy, geothermal, low-emission solutions and biofuels projects. , among others.

As part of its commitment to enable the use of low-emission energy, the Institute is putting into operation a new laboratory, where it is planned to mix hydrogen and natural gas to generate a fuel that reduces carbon emissions, mitigates the effects of climate change and can be transported through domestic gas infrastructure.

Currently, the Institute has 266 Ecopetrol researchers and more than 1,100 workers from contracting companies, who will participate in training and internship programs in world-class research centers on topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, hydrogen and gas, among others.

For the coming years, the construction of a multifunctional area is planned where three pilot plants will be installed to promote initiatives for carbon capture, production of synthetic fuels and thermal transformation of biomass; chemical recycling of plastics and other waste to produce low-emission energy.