The companies behind Colombia's burgeoning green hydrogen hub

Colombia's Antioquia department is leading efforts to turn the Andean country into a green hydrogen exporter.

The mines and energy ministry revealed that a public-private consortium is advancing plans for a green hydrogen hub in the department, located in Colombia's northwest.

The initiative seeks to establish an ecosystem for the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen sourced from renewable energy. 

"The collaboration between the public, academic and private sectors is crucial to develop projects that not only benefit the region, but also contribute to sustainable development at the national and international level," the mines and energy ministry said in a statement. 

Development of the hub is being driven by the mines and energy ministry alongside multi-utility EPM, local technology firm Opex, private energy developer Celsia and the Universidad de Antioquia, among other partners. 

Projects already in the pipeline include sustainable mobility initiatives and green fertilizer production, the ministry said.

Cost forecast

According to a study commissioned by the German Agency for Internacional Cooperation (GIZ), the hub will cover 702,150ha in the municipality of Sonsón, around 100km southeast of Medellín. 

The document, which can be seen here, envisages a levelized cost of green hydrogen from the hub's solar projects of US$3.4/kg in 2030, down from US$6.4/kg in 2020. The figure is then expected to fall to US$1.7/kg in 2040.

The levelized cost of hydrogen sourced from wind energy, meanwhile, is seen dipping from US$3.68/kg in 2020 to US$2.95/kg in 2030 and US$2.66/kg in 2040.

Hydrogen from hydropower

BNamericas understands that the hub also includes plans to produce hydrogen from hydroelectric power. 

In May, Universidad de Antioquia energy engineering professor Andrés Amell told BNamericas that the institution was working alongside state-run oil company Ecopetrol on a pilot that would utilize small-scale hydroelectric plants to produce hydrogen for local industries and potential export markets. 

And in March, Colombian hydrogen association executive president Mónica Gasca told BNamericas that Opex – through its Hevolución initiative – planned to facilitate green ammonia exports to Germany via a 2.5MW electrolyzer that utilized hydropower in Antioquia. 

Other plans 

EPM said in May that it was seeking joint venture partners to produce green hydrogen for export markets in Europe and Asia.

The company is aiming to produce 100t/y of the energy vector in the short term and 400t/y within three years, CEO John Maya said, adding that EPM could "almost triple" its revenue through hydrogen exports by 2030. 

Hydrogen shipped abroad would be stored in ammonia via a chemical process before being extracted through heating.