COP27: Panama sets out to become global transit hub for green hydrogen

Panama claims that about a third of global green hydrogen exports in 2030 could pass through the Panama Canal.

PHOTO: Port of Balboa at Panama's Pacific Ocean side. Getty Images

Panama has set an ambitious target of producing 500,000 mt/year of green hydrogen by 2030 and about 4 million mt/year by 2040, Panama’s undersecretary of energy Rosalina Lindo said yesterday at the COP27 summit.

Lindo said the country is evaluating investments needed to strengthen storage infrastructure and build hydrogen carriers to scale up hydrogen exports from the region. She thinks that other Latin American and Caribbean nations have potential to scale up their green hydrogen production.

Panama is looking to boost both its own production and exports of green hydrogen, green ammonia and e-methanol for the maritime sector, Lindo said. She expects demand for these renewable marine fuels to come from European and Asian buyers.

Panama is expected to roll out its “Green Hydrogen Strategy” by December next year, which will list out strategies and projects to produce green hydrogen, as well as exports and imports. Lindo said that some of the 16 green hydrogen initiatives and studies launched earlier this year have already moved from the drawing board and are closer to becoming reality.

The country is also working with key partners such as the UAE and Norway on initiatives to increase green hydrogen production.

By Nithin Chandran

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