Chile’s Corfo selects six green hydrogen projects

Corfo has selected six of the twelve proposals in the first call to develop green hydrogen production plants in Chile.

The objectives of these green hydrogen projects are to speed up the materialisation of these initiatives to position Chile as a world leader in green hydrogen. The projects will be installed in Antofagasta, Valparaíso, Biobío and Magallanes, and are planned to enter operation by 2025. The projects would have a combined electrolysis capacity of 388 MW, equivalent to what is currently in operation worldwide.

The selected proposals will attract investments of US$ 1 billion and expect to produce over 45k tonnes/year of green hydrogen, which will cut over 600k tonnes/year of CO2. The selected initiatives must enter operation by 2025 and will receive US$50 million in supports.

The Proyecto Faro del Sur project is presented by Enel Green Power Chile SA to produce 25,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen in the Magallanes Region with the installation of 240 MW of electrolysers and the electricity supply of a wind farm in the region. The green hydrogen is expected to be sold to HIF Chile, a company that will produce ethanol and e-gasoline for export to Europe. It will receive a funding of US$ 16.9 million.

The HyPro Aconcagua proposal put forward by Linde GmbH, which proposes to install a project to replace a part of the current grey hydrogen production that they have installed in the Aconcagua oil refinery, in Valparaíso, which belongs to the National Petroleum Company (ENAP). This project contemplates a power of 20 MW and expects to generate 3,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen. It will receive a funding of US$ 2.4 million.

The HyEx- Green Hydrogen Production project is led by Engie SA, which seeks to generate an industrial pilot-scale plant for the generation of 3,200 tonnes/year of green hydrogen from an electrolysis capacity of 26 MW in the Antofagasta region. This green hydrogen will then be supplied to Enaex to produce green ammonia to reduce more than 30,000 tonnes/year of CO2. It will receive a funding of US$ 9.5 million.

Antofagasta Mining Energy Renewable (AMER) is an initiative launched by Air Liquide SA with which it is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes/year of e-methanol from renewable energy, green hydrogen and CO2 captured from a fixed source. With an electrolyser power of 80 MW, it will be installed in the Antofagasta Region. It will receive a funding of US$ 11.7 million.

The Green Hydrogen Bahía Quintero project is led by GNL Quintero SA, which includes the development, construction, and operation of the first large-scale green hydrogen plant in the central zone of Chile, in the Valparaíso Region. The project will have an installed electrolysis capacity of 10 MW, with which it is expected to produce 430 tonnes/year of green hydrogen. It will receive a funding of US$ 5.7 million.

H2V CAP project is launched by CAP SA, aiming to implement a green hydrogen plant in the Biobío Region. It will have a 20 MW electrolyser to produce 1,550 tonnes/year of green hydrogen and cut over 161,000 tonnes/year of CO2. It will receive a funding of US$ 3.6 million.