With the appointment of Israel Hurtado as head of the Latin American Hydrogen Alliance, Mexico assumes a key role in regional energy cooperation and in promoting clean hydrogen across Latin America.
Mexico takes on a strategic position in the region’s energy transformation as it is chosen to lead the General Secretariat of the Latin American Hydrogen Alliance for the 2025–2027 term. The appointment of Israel Hurtado, president of the Mexican Hydrogen and Energy Transition Association (H2México), resulted from a vote among the Alliance’s member countries — Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Chile, and Mexico — which placed their confidence in his experience and vision for regional integration.
Under his leadership, the goal is to strengthen technical, scientific, and regulatory cooperation to boost the development of clean hydrogen across the continent. Hurtado, a strong advocate for green hydrogen adoption in Mexico, has long promoted public–private collaboration to accelerate the energy transition. His election represents an opportunity for Latin America to advance in the creation of common standards, knowledge exchange, and international investment attraction toward sustainable clean energy projects, reinforcing the region’s role in decarbonization.
Mexico’s designation comes at a critical moment for the global energy sector. The shift toward low-carbon economies has positioned green hydrogen as one of the most promising solutions for decarbonizing industries such as steelmaking, heavy transport, and power generation. In this context, Latin America holds natural advantages — abundant renewable resources, water availability, and vast territories — making it a strategic region for competitive clean hydrogen production.
The Latin American Hydrogen Alliance emerges as a coalition seeking to coordinate these strengths and project a unified voice before multilateral organizations, investors, and international forums. With Mexico at the helm, the Alliance aims to increase the global visibility of Latin American projects, promote technological cooperation, and establish frameworks to ensure the sustainability and traceability of hydrogen produced in the region.
Technical cooperation and knowledge exchange
One of the pillars of the work plan led by Israel Hurtado is the creation of a technical network for interinstitutional collaboration among the Alliance’s member countries. This initiative seeks to generate indigenous knowledge through market studies, innovation reports, regulatory analyses, and technical guidelines that support hydrogen project planning at various stages of maturity.
The goal is to build a regional database of best practices, standards, and operational experiences that will enable governments, universities, and companies to reduce the learning curve and strengthen execution capacity. In addition, the Alliance will promote the harmonization of regulations and certifications, an essential step to facilitate exports and attract foreign investment. Through this, the region will move toward a clean hydrogen innovation ecosystem that drives industrial competitiveness and sustainable development.
Annual meetings and On-site cooperation
The Latin American Hydrogen Alliance plans to hold at least one major annual in-person meeting, where member countries can present progress, research results, and collaboration opportunities. These events will serve as platforms for dialogue between the public sector, industry, academia, and multilateral organizations, fostering synergies that promote the development of flagship projects across the region.
Additionally, the General Secretariat led by Hurtado will organize technical and institutional visits to pilot plants, research centers, and renewable energy production zones in participating countries. These missions will provide first-hand insights into the operational challenges and technological innovations shaping the emerging hydrogen market and its link to renewable energy, the cornerstone of Latin America’s energy transition. Together, these actions will strengthen bilateral cooperation and mutual learning, consolidating the region’s international visibility as a committed player in the global energy transition.
Expanding membership and strengthening collaboration
One of the strategic objectives of the new administration of the Latin American Hydrogen Alliance is to expand its reach by integrating new members, including additional countries, technical institutions, and academic organizations, that can contribute to diversifying its knowledge base and technological capabilities.
Israel Hurtado has emphasized that strengthening the Alliance depends on its openness to new voices and perspectives that enrich regional dialogue. Expanding membership will allow the Alliance to consolidate a stronger platform for technical cooperation, connecting Latin American countries with international organizations, research centers, and global energy associations.
Through this openness, the Alliance seeks to position Latin America as a reliable and competitive partner within the global clean hydrogen ecosystem, contributing actively to international climate and decarbonization goals.
Mexico’s National Commitment and regional leadership
During the Annual General Assembly of the Mexican Hydrogen and Energy Transition Association (AMHTE), a Collaboration Agreement was signed with the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE), led by Israel Jáuregui. The agreement, signed on International Day Against Climate Change, marks a milestone in integrating public policy with technical action for Mexico’s energy transition.
The agreement aims to promote energy efficiency and the optimal use of energy — from generation to final consumption — through joint strategies, institutional training, and dissemination of results. It also lays the foundation for developing initiatives that strengthen the hydrogen market infrastructure and foster cooperation on emission reduction projects.
Such partnerships demonstrate that the energy transition requires coordinated action between the State, industry, and the scientific community — essential pillars to ensure a sustainable energy future for the region.
A historic opportunity for Latin America
Mexico’s leadership within the Latin American Hydrogen Alliance represents a historic opportunity to transform the region’s energy potential into an economic and environmental force of global reach. The challenge will be to turn political cooperation into tangible projects that generate employment, investment, and technology transfer.
Latin America has both the natural resources and human capital to become a hub for green hydrogen innovation, but success will depend on its ability to align coherent policies, secure financing, and develop regional value chains.
Under Israel Hurtado’s leadership and with active participation from member countries, the Alliance can consolidate a shared vision of sustainability, competitiveness, and energy security. Together, this new stage lays the groundwork for clean hydrogen to move beyond promise and become a strategic reality for the continent’s industrial and environmental development.
“Mexico’s leadership in the Alliance will strengthen technical cooperation and the generation of indigenous knowledge on clean hydrogen across Latin America.”
Sources
- Strategic energy, pv magazine LatAm, H2Business News, Energía a Debate, H2 News Chile (October 27–31, 2025).
- Inspenet Brief, Mexican Hydrogen and Energy Transition Association (H2México). Date: November 2025
This article was developed by specialist Israel Hurtado and published as part of the seventh edition of Inspenet Brief February 2026, dedicated to technical content in the energy and industrial sector.