Chile made a key step towards consolidating its leadership in H2V development at the World Hydrogen 2023 Summit & Exhibition. Chile’s Energy Ministry, the Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Municipality of Mejillones and Puerto Angamos committed to creating a green maritime corridor that will connect transport from Chilean to Dutch ports.
Over three days, the leading exponents of Chile’s green hydrogen chain participated in an event for the country’s development: the World Hydrogen 2023 Summit & Exhibition, which was held between May 9 and 11 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The delegation was led by ProChile, and included the participation of the Energy Minister, Diego Pardow, InvestChile, a hundred executives from 55 companies in the H2V ecosystem, and local governments. Chile’s public and private sector for an industry that is now a priority for the sustainable development of the planet has the benefit of geographical advantages that make the country the most competitive producer and exporter of the fuel of the future in the world.
According to the Asociación Chilena del Hidrógeno (Chilean Hydrogen Association, H2 Chile), green hydrogen exports could be as important as copper or lithium for our country. They will also generate value throughout the production chain and the services associated with the industry, which would mostly benefit local communities.
According to H2 Chile, incorporating green hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels in different energy-intensive production processes, such as mining or transportation, not only contributes to reducing CO2 emissions – the main challenge for the survival of humanity today – but also generates a favorable differentiation of goods such as copper or green steel, by producing them using a clean fuel that is widely valued in developed nations, and has higher environmental standards.
At the event held between May 9 and 11, the head of the Energy Ministry, Diego Pardow, stated, “as the Energy Ministry, we value this type of public-private occasion. Green hydrogen will play a fundamental role in Chile’s path towards our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We are committed to taking advantage of the potential that our country offers and implementing public policies that will allow us to become world leaders in producing this clean fuel and its derivatives.”
Pardow also highlighted Chile’s comparative advantages for developing green hydrogen. “The winds in southern Chile and the solar radiation in the Atacama Desert are more powerful than in any other part of the world. This allows for plant characteristics that cannot be found anywhere else.”
TOWARDS A GREEN CORRIDOR
The energy minister in fact expressed one of the greatest achievements that resulted from the World Hydrogen 2023 Summit & Exhibition: the signing of a strategic agreement between Chile and the Netherlands to promote international green hydrogen supply value chains in the Mejillones bay area in Antofagasta.
