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Vesna Marinkovic U.

The specialist tells us that the Government of Oruro has designed a Hydrogen Valley in the Department that will attract investments, whether public, mixed, or private, for the production of Green Hydrogen and its industrialization through Power-to-X.

1The planet is trying to build a new energy matrix, besieged by the consequences of global warming caused mainly by fossil fuels. In this equation, green hydrogen emerges as a clean alternative, and it is said that the starting point is hydrogen valleys. What should we understand by these spaces?

A "Green Hydrogen Valley" is a geographical area (a city, a region, an island, or an industrial group) where various hydrogen applications are combined in an integrated hydrogen ecosystem that leverages local assets (such as abundant renewable energy sources) and addresses local needs, improving the economy behind the project. Ideally, it should cover the entire hydrogen value chain: production, storage, distribution, and final use.

In this way, Hydrogen Valleys form incredibly efficient ecosystems that facilitate the production and consumption of this flexible molecule, as it can be used industrially but also directed to produce synthetic fuels or support the electrical system.

2Is the idea to have a Hydrogen Valley close to consumption areas? What does its construction involve, and what are its most specific characteristics?

Actually, the main objective of the Hydrogen Valley is to unite hydrogen production plants and consumption locations in the same geographical area to use the synergies that shared infrastructure would provide, allowing more efficient energy use.

A Hydrogen Valley not only needs a convincing project concept with coverage of the hydrogen value chain but also requires developing a viable business case that links competitive clean hydrogen production with the willingness of buyers to pay. Public support and/or financing from multiple sources are vital to reduce risk in investments. Effective partnership and synergistic cooperation between the parties involved in the Valley are essential during project development, ensuring the ongoing commitment of all parties and gaining political support and societal backing.

3How would green hydrogen be obtained in these hydrogen valleys?

Currently, the technology that is gaining the most relevance is electrolysis, mainly due to its efficiency and scalability. And for this, you only need water and electricity from renewable sources (photovoltaic, wind, biomass, nuclear, hydro, etc.), as simple as that. The only problem is that the technology is still in the maturation stage, and the price of electrolyzers needs to decrease significantly in the coming years to have a Green Hydrogen price low enough to be competitive.

4Is Bolivia working on the alternative of green hydrogen?

Definitely. The Bolivian Government has been taking the need for a change in the country's energy matrix very seriously for several years through the development of renewable energies to contribute to decarbonization and, at the same time, work on energy and economic security.

Within this matrix change, hydrogen has gained much relevance as public policy. In fact, the Government is currently about to publish "the Green and Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap," conducted by the IDB with the support of the Deloitte consulting firm. The aim is to boost the development of the Hydrogen industry in the country through a regulatory framework with a strong, inclusive, and legally secure spirit.

5How is the Government of Oruro involved in this dynamic?

The Government of Oruro has designed a Hydrogen Valley in the Department that will attract investments, whether public, mixed, or private, for the production of Green Hydrogen and its industrialization through Power-to-X. In this way, the Valley has been designed on an initial flat area of 8,000 hectares on the altiplano necessary for the installation of millions of solar panels that will provide energy to the electrolyzers using saltwater from the subsurface to allow scaling. This area is strategically located near all kinds of infrastructure: electrical grids, gas pipelines, roads, and railways that will allow the development of an export industry of green hydrogen and green ammonia on an industrial scale, bringing with it the development of internal demand in both the industrial and energy sectors.

6 What is the most important market for the consumption of green hydrogen in Bolivia?

Currently, natural demand for green hydrogen is very incipient worldwide. In fact, to stimulate demand and make investments viable, countries are generating diverse incentives.

The most promising future market for the use of hydrogen will be in applications where electricity cannot be a solution.