Ecopetrol to test green H2 at Cartagena refinery

Colombia's state-controlled Ecopetrol is joining an industry rush into green hydrogen with plans for a modest pilot project.

The Bogotá-based company plans to import a small electrolyzer from Spain in the first quarter of 2022 to test the production and application of the emerging fuel at its 165,000 b/d Cartagena refinery on the Caribbean coast.

Electrolyzers operated on renewable energy separate hydrogen from oxygen in water, producing the "green" grade of hydrogen for a variety of industrial applications.

Ecopetrol's refining system in Colombia currently consumes up to 130 t/yr of grey hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, including 68pc at Cartagena and 32pc at the 250,000 b/d Barrancabermeja refinery in Santander department. The hydrogen is used to remove sulfur from motor fuels.

"We are also evaluating blue hydrogen," Ecopetrol chief executive Felipe Bayon said in an earnings call today. "The question is how competitive can we be with hydrogen production. We are not limiting our analysis to green hydrogen."

Blue hydrogen is produced using natural gas with an accompanying carbon capture and storage system.

Colombia has pledged carbon neutrality by 2050. The government last month enacted an energy transition law that recognizes green and blue hydrogen as renewable energy eligible for reduced income tax, VAT and tariff exemptions and accelerated depreciation. The new legislation also provides a legal framework for other energy sources such as geothermal plants, as well as storage, carbon capture and energy efficiency.

Elsewhere in the region, Brazil and Chile are attracting green hydrogen investments tied to extensive renewable energy capacity.

By Patricia Garip