Chile Signs E-Fuels Agreement alongside Hyvolution 2024
Chile’s National Petroleum Company Enap has closed a commercial agreement with the international electrofuel development programme HIF Global that will allow Enap to participate in future HIF projects and accelerate the development of e-fuels in Chile.
The deal comes as the country sees its second year of the Hyvolution Chile fair, which has marked itself as a key event within the Latin American hydrogen industry and hosted more than thirteen panels in Metropolitan Santiago, where the event took place.
The agreement between Enap and HIF Global has been a gradual process between the two organisations, and is expected to allow the development of new projects, as well as facilitate both the landing of industry equipment and the export of final products in the future. It is also expected to define a strong business model for ENAP to better market carbon-neutral fuels within the country.
The agreement also establishes a modernisation plan for Chile’s Cabo Negro, Enap’s first hydrogen plant located in the Magallanes region
Speaking on the agreement’s potential for reduced emissions alongside increasing global demand for cleaner energy, Minister of Finance Mario Marcel said: “With the signing of this agreement of understanding, we are no longer talking about hydrogen as a pipe dream or a possibility, we are discussing it from a logistical point of view to install plants to produce ammonia, or combustible synthetics, that can all be exported.
“We are now entering into materials and projects that have started to take form.”
Minister of Energy Diego Pardow stated that the agreement would “reaffirm the strategic role of public enterprise in the development of the green hydrogen industry”, and that it would promise the highest standards of productivity, employee satisfaction, and environmental impact in the Magallanes region.
Chile’s role in Hyvolution 2024
The second Hyvolution Chile Fair has also seen a number of developments that may lay the groundwork for Chile to become a key hydrogen exporter in the future. The event saw over three hundred attendees in the inaugural ceremony, which was attended by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, alongside various other key figures related to the hydrogen and energy industries.
The event, organised by the GL Events Group’s Fisa alongside H2 Chile, has more than 95 companies exhibiting their latest innovations in energy and solutions relating to the green hydrogen industry. It is intended to promote and strengthen the relationships between businesses and move the industry forward as a collective.
Chile so far has 74 in-progress projects relating to the hydrogen industry, of which nine are operational on a pilot scale and six in environmental assessment. The country’s energy sector is currently positioned to be the principal receiver of foreign investments with a current total of US $17.455 million, a 41% increase since last year. The hydrogen industry in particular is seen to be a leader amongst the nation’s energy projects, topping the charts with 29 initiatives valued at a collective US $4.658 million, surpassing both solar and wind projects for the first time.
During a speech made to attendees, Boric made reference to both the environmental and economical benefits the industry was providing within Chile, as well as emphasising Chile’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050. “Chile can make a difference, it can thread the needle,” he declared.
“We are the country with the most extensive network of commercial treaties in the world, and this new industry is a key example of our global support.”
