Cop 27: Panama eyes H2 transit hub and production role

Panama plans to develop its own renewable hydrogen production as well as position itself as a transit hub for green energy, undersecretary of energy Rosalina Lindo said at the Cop 27 UN climate summit in Egypt today.

The country aims to produce 500,000 t/yr of renewable hydrogen by 2030, rising to 4mn t/yr by 2040, harnessing its strong renewables potential and the highest volume of rainfall in central America, Lindo said. But "our main goal is to position our country as one of the global green hydrogen routes", she said.

Panama expects a third of international hydrogen trade to flow through the Panama Canal in the future. The country wants to become a logistics hub for hydrogen and derived fuels produced by countries in Central and South America. Some of this product will transit through the country and some will be used in Panama to supply to the maritime and aviation industries. Panama is synonymous with its famous canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but its airport is also regionally important — it is the largest in Central America offering flights to 70 destinations in 31 countries.

Panama is studying the cost to adapt its hydrocarbon infrastructure, Lindo said. It is due to release a national hydrogen strategy in December that will set out a range of policies including incentives for storage infrastructure operators to switch to support hydrogen derivatives. The upcoming strategy follows an initial roadmap released in January.

Panama is also developing an organisation for renewable hydrogen players at all stages of the value chain called the Hydrogen International Trade Organisation to discuss production and prices and share knowledge, Lindo said.

Projects are already being developed in the country that could help meet these goals. SGP Bioenergy is developing a biorefinery with the Panamanian government that is expected to produce up to 180,000 b/d of biofuels and 405,000 t/yr of renewable hydrogen when fully operational.

By Aidan Lea