The sectors seen driving green hydrogen demand in Colombia

Oil refiners and fertilizer producers will be key demand drivers for clean hydrogen in Colombia amid efforts to kick-start investment in the nascent sector, an industry expert told BNamericas. 

"These sectors already use hydrogen derived from fossil fuels, so there’s an existing market," Karen Peralta, the head of the Andi-Naturgas hydrogen chamber, said in a telephone interview. 

"The challenge is to make low-emission hydrogen competitive with gray or fossil-based hydrogen. Colombia should start by decarbonizing these industries with clean hydrogen."

According to Peralta, the absence of a carbon tax and government subsidies for the consumption of crude oil derivatives are currently stymying the adoption of clean hydrogen in the transport sector. 

"If emitting CO2 costs nothing, there’s no incentive to switch to hydrogen," she said. 

"For applications such as transportation, hydrogen must not only compete with alternatives like gasoline and diesel but also require technologies to be cost-effective. For example, we need fuel cell trucks to reach cost parity with diesel vehicles, which is a significant challenge. Similarly, in the industrial sector, equipment adapted to hydrogen use must be renewed."

Despite myriad challenges, Peralta expects Colombia to have 1GW of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen production by 2030.

She said Colombia currently has 49 hydrogen projects under development, 13 of which are being tested on a pilot scale. Among the companies developing such projects are Ecopetrol, EPM, Hevolución and Sumitomo. 

Read the full interview with Peralta here and here.