H2 Ecosystem: New Colombian Hydrogen Information Platform
The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergía) has joined together with the Latin-American-Carribean hydrogen platform H2LAC to deliver the country’s first hydrogen information system, H2 Ecosystem, which it hopes will ‘centralise, pick up, divulge, and register projects and information on the value of hydrogen and its derivatives.’
The announcement was made during a virtual event organised within the framework of the H2-diplo Programme, Diplomacy of Decarbonisation, and financed by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AA) and implemented by the German Development corporation GIZ – which is also currently overseeing a major hydrogen project in Chile.
Speaking to an audience close to 300, the German Embassy’s Climate Action Counsellor – Leonard Maue – acknowledged the work being carried out between Germany and Colombia, stating: “We are very proud to be able to share our experiences and to contribute to the capacity building in Colombia by helping us to create our own environment.
The relationship between Germany and Colombia is based on common values, mutual trust, and the shared desire to build a more sustainable future for our people.”
Minister Maue went on to stress that the platform “marks an important milestone in the energy transition. The H2 Ecosystem will not only consolidate efforts around green hydrogen, but will also facilitate collaborate and coordination between the public and private sectors, civil society, academia, financial institutions, and international cooperation.”
The aim of the platform is to promote the development and adoption of hydrogen and its derivatives across a wider spectrum of industries
The aim of the platform is to promote the development and adoption of hydrogen and its derivatives across a wider spectrum of industries, and cement it as a future key player in a national clean-energy transition.
According to José David, member of the Hydrogen working group of the Electric Energy Directorate of MinEnergía, the tool is “to centralise everything that is developed around hydrogen and its derivatives in the country, and in the same way be a communication channel for all the people of this country and others who know about the potential we have for the development of hydrogen.”
The move follows an agreement of understanding between The Colombian Hydrogen Association and The National Association of Sustainable Mobility (ANDEMOS) as they seek to promote hydrogen-based transport.
The agreement aims to help mitigate the effects of climate change by prioritising modes of transport with low CO2 emissions within the country’s infrastructure
The agreement aims to help mitigate the effects of climate change by prioritising modes of transport with low CO2 emissions within the country’s infrastructure, and will also seek to conduct studies into the efficacy and technicalities of creating a strong regulatory framework for a hydrogen transport industry.
ANDEMOS, a company which represents vehicle brands across Colombia, stated that “to play a part in the construction of a sectoral public policy to make transport an deficient and modern sector – supporting the economic and technological development that, to one’s eyes, generates social progression – is fundamental to complete the steps established in the energy transition roadmap.”
Both associations share the hope that the agreement will make people more conscious of clean energies and their potential in transport, and that further implementation of hydrogen energy within the country will lead to a stronger and more robust legal framework that will be better suited for a decarbonised industry and nation as a whole.
The president of the Colombian Hydrogen Association, Mónica Gasca, said: “With this agreement of understanding we are demonstrating the promise to the country and its people of visualising the hydrogen ecosystem and decarbonising the transport industry, and raising a toast to sustainable mobility that is secure, efficient, cost-effective, and accessible.
“The transition within the transport industry must be accompanied by a change in thinking [..] until we develop new technologies for the use of new combustibles such as hydrogen.”
