LAC Region

Working together for a LAC Region with opportunities

The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has a total annual Hydrogen consumption of approximately 4.1 million tons (MTon), accounting for 4% of the global production market (IEA, 2024). In terms of its trade balance, the LAC region relies heavily on hydrogen imports to meet domestic demand, which reached a value of US$8.04 million in 2023 (3.4% of the total global import value). However, exports were significantly lower, amounting to just US$0.22 million (0.1% of the total global export value). Most of the hydrogen produced in the region is Grey Hydrogen, derived from petroleum refining through the steam methane reforming (SMR) process, with a small share of Blue Hydrogen produced using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Meanwhile, Green Hydrogen production remains minimal, with small-scale operations in countries such as Argentina (120 Nm³/h; H2 Hychico Plant), Costa Rica (0.8 tons/year; Ad Astra Rocket), Chile (10 tons/year; Cerro Pabellón), and Peru (Industrias Cachimayo). Nevertheless, international projections (Hydrogen Council, 2022) indicate that LAC’s Green Hydrogen production could reach 49 MTon/year by 2050, transforming the region from a net importer to a major exporter of Green Hydrogen.

Hydrogen Trade Balance (imports/exports):

Base Year: 2023
Thousand dollars (kUSD)

Sources of information:
1) United Nations, Trade Statistics, UN Comtrade Database. https://comtradeplus.un.org
2) World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS), World Bank. https://wits.worldbank.org
3) International Trade Center (ITC), Trade statistics for international business. https://trademap.org

Countries

North America

Mexico

Central America

Belize

Costa Rica

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Nicaragua

Panama

Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas, The

Barbados

Cuba

Curazao

Dominica

Haiti

Jamaica

Dominican Republic

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

San Vincent and The Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

South America

Argentina

Bolivia (Pluri-national State of)

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

Guyana

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

_{Foto de Jeremy Bishop en Unsplash}

National Hydrogen Strategies/Roadmaps

The LAC Region is making significant progress in the development Hydrogen policies and project infrastructure, primarily focused on Green Hydrogen. A total of Eleven Hydrogen Roadmaps or Strategies have been published across the LAC Region, with the primary objective of developing this technology to accelerate sectoral decarbonization, drive economic growth, and create jobs. Currently, hydrogen strategies are being developed in Peru, Mexico and Guatemala.