Corfo Announces Lithium Deal for Chilean H2 Projects
The Chilean government hopes that the new lithium deal will promote investment into projects benefitting the hydrogen industry and create hundreds of jobs.
Approximately 9,500 tons a year of lithium carbonate equivalent are set to be made available at a ‘preferential price’ to specialised producers developing value-added projects in Chile, from both within the country and abroad.
The Production Development Corporation (Corfo), a governmental agency dedicated to promoting economic growth in Chile, made the announcements during the VII InvestChile International Forum, held in Santiago.
Speaking at the event, President Gabriel Boric said: “At the beginning of the second half of the year, Corfo is going to make a second callout for specialised lithium producers to invest in value-added initiatives in our country, this time within the contract framework that Corfo maintains with the North American company, Albemarle. It is very important to us in this matter that we make this model of development more complex.
According to Corfo, the 9,500 ton-figure is only an initial quota, equivalent to 15% of Albemarle’s current production
The quota is set to increase by 2.5% annually for the next decade, when it will reach a maximum of 25% that will extend until 2043.
Corfo and Albemarle’s commitment to sell large quantities of lithium to producers is said to have come from a specific cause found within the exploitation contracts of Corfo mining properties. These same contracts have also allowed Corfo to direct more resources towards research and development in green hydrogen, renewable energy, and in lithium itself, according to Corfo’s Vice President, José Miguel Benavente.
Speaking at the forum, Benavente described the partnership between the two agencies as “a productive strategy for the generation of added value in Chile”, which he hopes will generate employment and sustainable growth within the country, in both economic and social terms.
On top of this, Benavente also emphasised that one of the key conditions of the award will be the ability for specialised lithium producers to propose both local and regional projects within Chile that will benefit local communities, as well as promoting the development of newer projects that will use lithium to generate renewable energies, or otherwise move Chile toward their net-zero goal.
Benavente also clarified that the call will come “no later than the end of July”, with all declarations of interest to be directed at Corfo, which will allocate projects through to the end of the year, after any bidding and purchases take place.
So far, Corfo has already awarded the status of ‘specialised producer’ to two companies:
Yongqing Technology, a Chinese company belonging to the Tsingshan Holding Group which plans to build a cathode material production plant to open in 2025; along with BYD Chile, which plans to produce lithium ferrophosphate cathode material, also set to start in 2025. It is estimated that the latter will produce 11,244 tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate.
The Chilean government’s plans to award specialised producers a lithium deal comes just over a month after the announcement of their Hydrogen Plan of Action 2023, which aims to make the country a key exporter of the world’s hydrogen by no later than 2030.
The announcement of a lithium deal to promote investment into national green hydrogen projects follows on from one of the key aims of the first stage of their plan, which is to provide financial instruments to encourage further investment into the country. The encouragement of further hydrogen projects currently marks a significant step forward for Chile’s plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
Byline: Leslie Kerwin
