QCOSTARICA – The Asociación Costarricense de Hidrógeno (ACH2) – Costa Rican Hydrogen Association – and its Canadian counterpart, Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA), signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation in the development of zero-emission technologies.
One of the top ten hydrogen producers in the world, Canada has more than 100 leading hydrogen companies, employing more than 2,000 people and generating annual revenues of more than US$200 million.
The agreement represents a huge opportunity for Costa Rica, said Javier Bonilla Herrera, president of ACH2, acknowledging that they are excited to share knowledge with Canada.
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“Costa Rica is emerging as a key player in the global hydrogen value chain,” he said.
“The collaboration will help both countries achieve their climate goals while promoting international trade and supply chains,” said Canadian association president Mark Kirby.
The agreement is a basic element for future actions towards cooperation between both the public and private sectors of both countries, according to Mauricio Ortiz, Costa Rica’s ambassador to Canada.
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Costa Rica in 2019 launched the Plan Nacional de Descarbonización (National Decarbonization Plan) with the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 through the modernization of public transport, research on alternative fuels, and the expansion of the forest mass.
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Last September, ACH2 stressed that Costa Rica should focus on investing and developing in alternative energies such as hydrogen and not depending on oil.
“At the country level we are seeing the adaptation of international standards so that they are in force here, as a country project it is the dissemination to society but we must train middle and high command of what would be the opportunities of the future,” said Bonilla at the time.
In 2020, for the sixth year in a row, Costa Rica produced at least 98% of its electricity from renewable sources. Last year, this percentage was exactly 99.78%, according to data from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).
In December 2020, after three years of research and analysis, Canada launched a plan to use hydrogen so that, like Costa Rica, the North American country reaches carbon neutrality by 2050.
CHFCA and ACH2 are both non-profit organizations that aim to promote the use of hydrogen as an energy source.
