Towards a sustainable Green Hydrogen economy

The panel -the sixth one- was held in Bustillo Hall of the Llao Llao Llao hotel and was in charge of the Secretary of Hydrocarbons of Tierra del Fuego, Alejandro Aguirre; the researcher of Fundación Bariloche, Ignacio Sagardoy; and the Project Manager of the business consulting firm Calden, Ernesto Coutsier. Claudia Ilting, leader of Componente PtX Hub, GIZ, moderated the presentations.

"We believe there is a great opportunity to take advantage of it."

Ignacio Sagardoy, researcher and member of Fundación Bariloche, assured that "there is a great opportunity" to take advantage of the benefits of Green Hydrogen in Argentina. He emphasized the natural resources that the country has, along with its technical, technological and human skills.

He also explained that this "implies a positive and synergic negotiation between the public and private sectors. There must be a virtuous circle for both, which creates the conditions for the development of Green Hydrogen projects."

Regarding the important work done by Fundación Bariloche, Sagardoy said, "We are committed to advising governments and other institutions in long-term planning, based mainly on scientific evidence." He emphasized that the institution "was associated with all measures that aim to mitigate the effects of climate change, and avoid its consequences, which is the objective of this Forum and all the policies we are trying to develop."

The situation in Tierra del Fuego

Alejandro Aguirre, Secretary of Hydrocarbons of Tierra del Fuego, described the work that is being done by the province of Tierra del Fuego in energy matters, and its focus on Green Hydrogen.

He explained that the province (including Antarctica Argentina and the South Atlantic Islands, with the Malvinas) is the second largest gas producer in the country and has a great technological development in its Industrial Park. "In 2018, we started to analyze what to do other than gas and electronics in Tierra del Fuego, then we started a very strong connection with our strategic partner, the Federal Investment Council, and from this connection, we were able to make different technical assistance to develop the potential of hydrogen generation and establish the costs."

"With the CFI, we started to design a roadmap. Communication is essential, the State has to dialogue with investors and markets, to ensure legal certainty", said the official, and added that it is essential "to maintain dialogue also with people, with our neighbors and evaluate if we have the necessary internal and external skills. Public policies must be developed in this area, and the State must be up to the task."

Finally, the Project Manager of the business-consulting firm Calden, Ernesto Coutsier, showed the main components in the levelized cost of hydrogen. Moreover, why the cost of electricity and the cost of capital are so important, and how they influence each other. For this purpose, studies from Brazil and Peru were presented.