Chile courts Mideast, Asia investors for green hydrogen

Chile is courting investors in the Middle East and Asia for green hydrogen projects ranging from ammonia to carbon neutral gasoline.

A foreign ministry delegation will visit Riyadh next week to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in anticipation of negotiations on a free trade agreement.

Chile is looking to expand agricultural exports to the region and promote green hydrogen and infrastructure investment opportunities, targeting sovereign wealth funds in particular, the foreign ministry's deputy secretary for international economic relations Rodrigo Yañez said yesterday.

The Gulf countries "want to transform themselves into powerhouses of renewable energy and green hydrogen from the investor point of view," Yañez said. "We want to present Chile's opportunities too, showing the public policy rollout to strengthen the sector in which Chile has the potential to be a competitive global actor."

On 15 February Chile signed an MOU with Singapore to encourage cooperation on green hydrogen, with a focus on management, technology, financing and supply chain development.

Santiago is seeking to leverage extensive solar and wind energy into green hydrogen as part of a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

Short-term projects include replacing imported ammonia in ammonium nitrate produced by Chilean explosives manufacturer Enaex in partnership with French utility Engie aimed at helping to decarbonize the mining industry. State-owned Enap could also replace grey hydrogen with green hydrogen in its Chilean refining system.

Longer term, Chile's Andes Mining and Energy (AME) is leading a pilot methanol-to-gasoline project derived from robust wind power in far southern Chile. Partners include Enap, automaker Porsche, Italian generator Enel and German engineering giant Siemens.

The government is targeting export markets, including China, Japan and South Korea.