Chile, the EU announce support for pre-investment studies of green hydrogen projects

To expedite the development of the green hydrogen industry in Chile and help achieve carbon neutrality, the European Union and Chile, through the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development (Agcid), the Ministry of Energy and Corfo, launched the co-financing contest for pre-investment studies of green hydrogen projects.

The contest aims to support projects related to hydrogen generation and its uses in transport, heat in industrial processes, etc.

León de la Torre Krais, the Ambassador of the European Union in Chile, said, “Chile and the EU have the “Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition”, aimed at promoting more sustainable development through total joint mobilisation of € 1 million.”

Francisco Javier López, the Undersecretary of Energy, said, “Chile can go from being an importer of fossil fuels, as it has been until now, to an exporter of clean energy, thanks to its great potential for natural resources.”

Pablo Terrazas, the EVP of Corfo, said, “Green hydrogen has the potential to consolidate itself as a new large economic sector worldwide, and in Chile, thanks to our natural resources, we have great advantages to be leaders in this matter, so we must act quickly.”

Cristián Jara, the Executive Director of Agcid, said, “Cooperation is made up of alliances, and this project was carried out thanks to our cooperation association with the European Union, through the Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition.”

The contest is financed by the Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition Chile – EU, signed between the General Directorate of International Associations of the European Union and Agcid, in December 2019. The total contribution of the tender is € 300,000, where applicants must co-finance at least 50% of the total cost of the study presented.

In a separate development, the Regional Commission for the Environment of Magallanes also voted in favour of the Impact Statement Environmental (DIA) of the Haru Oni ​​project of Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF). The initiative will seek to build a hydrogen-based eFuel production plant in southern Chile.

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Energy, the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region could produce 13% green hydrogen in the world given its immense potential in wind energy, considering that the estimated annual wind power generation in Magallanes could exceed by seven times the current electricity generation of the Chilean electricity matrix.