Colombia advances industrial-scale green hydrogen production with Ecopetrol’s Project Coral at Cartagena refinery

Colombia is progressing towards a significant energy transition milestone with the industrial-scale deployment of green hydrogen production through Ecopetrol’s Project Coral at the Cartagena refinery. The initiative includes installing a 5-megawatt proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, the largest of its kind in Latin America, designed to produce up to 800 tons of green hydrogen annually. This output is projected to replace an equivalent volume of grey hydrogen currently used in refinery processes, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 7,700 tons per year—equivalent to the emissions from 1,650 vehicles.

Powered exclusively by renewable energy from a 26-megawatt solar farm within the refinery, the electrolyzer’s process uses solar-generated electricity for water electrolysis, yielding hydrogen with 99.99% purity and no associated greenhouse gas emissions. The project also integrates Colombian developments in artificial intelligence for optimizing operation and maintenance, alongside fostering local capacity building, transferring technology, and generating employment with priority for local labor in Cartagena.

The project marks a critical transition from planning to operational reality in Colombia’s energy sector. President Gustavo Petro emphasized its strategic role against climate change, highlighting that from April 2026, the production of green hydrogen will contribute directly to decarbonizing fuel processing and introduce a cleaner energy vector. Additionally, technical trials will explore transporting green hydrogen through existing natural gas pipelines and its conversion into ammonia, supporting Colombia’s agroindustry and expanding export potential.

Colombia’s power matrix currently reaches 83% cleanliness in the winter season, largely due to hydroelectric generation, edging closer to a national objective of 100% clean energy. The president underscored that South American countries already achieve this threshold and that regional investment, estimated around $500 billion, could position the continent as a global leader in clean energy, significantly curbing fossil fuel dependence worldwide.

Despite technological advances, current legislation restricts Ecopetrol from generating and selling electrical energy, limiting wider deployment of these resources. The administration calls for urgent legal reforms to enable Ecopetrol to lead public clean energy generation, a critical step to strengthen Colombia’s energy sovereignty and sustainability ambitions. Ecopetrol positions itself as a pioneer in green hydrogen development in Latin America, preparing to expand into export markets and advance energy decarbonization at an industrial scale.