Porsche joins consortium to produce synthetic fuel from hydrogen in Chile

Porsche to join a consortium composed of Siemens Energy and et al to produce synthetic fuel (e-fuel) from green hydrogen in Southern Chile.

Porsche announced to invest EUR 20 million in the project, initially and will use the e-fuel in its cars. As a part of Germany’s national hydrogen strategy, the German Government will provide EUR 8 million grant to Siemens Energy to support the project.

Chile can be one of the best places for green hydrogen production due to its favourable climate conditions for wind power accompanied with other operating costs. The green hydrogen can be used locally with great export potential.

The pilot project is called ‘Haru Oni’ and is considered the world’s first industrial-level plant to produce e-fuel using green hydrogen generated through wind energy.

In the first phase, the Haru Oni project is expected to produce 130,000 litres of e-fuel by 2022. In the second stage, the annual production will reach 55 million litres by 2024, and then jumping to 550 million by 2026 in the final step.

The “Haru Oni” project is owned by AME, a Chilean energy company through its subsidiary company, Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF). Siemens Energy is a co-developer of the project and will play a vital role in the entire value chain, by supplying wind turbines, producing green hydrogen and converting it into e-fuel. ENAP, a Chilean petroleum company, will help the project by providing operating staff and assist in maintenance and logistics. Enel, an Italian energy company, is one of the investors in the project.