After environmental nod, Chile green hydrogen terminal enters tendering phase

A US$60mn green hydrogen shared logistics infrastructure project planned for Chile’s Magallanes region was given the environmental green light as industry development wheels and cogs turn.

The Laredo terminal project, led by infrastructure owner state oil company Enap, is designed to support the initial entrance into the far south region of equipment and machinery for large-scale plants.

Multiple gigawatts of green ammonia and e-fuel projects are planned for Magallanes, which is blessed with world-class wind resources. A demonstration e-fuels plant, Haru Oni, is operating there.

Because of water-depth restrictions at Laredo, the project involves renting a logistics vessel and anchoring it near the jetty. Cargo ships could then moor along each side of it and unload before the inward goods – chiefly wind turbines – are transferred to shore.

Next phase work includes tendering, and the objective is having the project operational in 2026-27. The initiative also includes onshore work such as paving and lighting. Operating since the late 1970s, the wharf itself is around 120m long and 25m wide. Enap has oil and gas operations in the region.

Laredo follows in the footsteps of a similar maritime logistics project carried out in Europe, Enap chair Gloria Maldonado told BNamericas during hydrogen conference Hyvolution Chile, being held this week in capital Santiago and organized by events company FISA. 

“We'll initiate an RFI [request for interest] call in 2025,” Maldonado said.

Enap is working on the Laredo project with green hydrogen developers Total Eren, HIF Chile and HNH Energy under an agreement signed in 2023.  

The green light was recently given by environmental review agency SEA which determined, following the submission of a letter of pertinence, that the project did not need to enter the review system.

Work at Laredo is penciled in to start late 2026 and take around a year.

Enap and six developers also have a much larger and longer-term logistics project involving US$900mn at the Gregorio terminal in Magallanes.   

“We’re moving along, everything is moving as planned, I would say,” Maldonado said. “We’re on time with the agreements we have with our developer partners.”

European hydrogen project financing entities have urged Chile to share infrastructure to help support industry development and drive down costs for the private sector.

This year Enap announced the award of the construction of its first green hydrogen plant, which will be located in the Cabo Negro complex in Magallanes. The objective of the 1MW electrolyzer-capacity facility is to make green hydrogen using power from the Vientos Patagónicos wind farm ─ of which Enap is the majority partner ─ with the aim of producing the first molecules by the end of 2025.

German company Neuman & Esser landed the work, which also has storage, loading station and training components.

Permitting

Opening the conference, Chilean President Gabriel Boric underscored the role of the State in helping to give the sector a nudge forward.

“We are convinced that Chile can make a difference, move the needle,” he said. “Chile is a country inserted into the world.”

“The State has a big role here,” he added, citing as an example government permitting-reform bills in congress designed to streamline processing. 

The goal is getting the draft legislation through congress by the end of the year, Boric said, adding the overall objective was building a hydrogen economy that benefits both investors and communities. The government had originally hoped to get green lights from lawmakers this quarter.

Meanwhile, in terms of supply-side projects, industry decision-makers told the conference that Chile, lacking hefty subsidy firepower, needed to leverage its world-class renewable energy resources and become more agile in terms of permitting.

Bernado Larraín, VP at local generator Colbún, criticized the current permitting system and called for a change that would allow wrinkles to be ironed out in the early stages of the permitting process.

Larraín referred to a Colbún pumped storage project, Paposo, whose permit-processing was terminated early by SEA, which alleged some information was missing.

Chile has several large-scale green hydrogen derivatives projects in the environmental review phase, the bulk targeting Magallanes or northern region Antofagasta. The biggest is AustriaEnergy's US$11bn HNH Energy green ammonia project, planned for Magallanes. 

Haste is urged to ensure the country takes advantage of a first-mover window of opportunity. 

An associated challenge is bridging, in the early phases, the price gap between traditional hydrocarbons and green hydrogen. Work is underway to introduce contracts for difference to help address this. 

Domestic demand

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Walmart and partners unveiled Chile’s first hydrogen fuel-cell heavy goods truck, part of a project supported by state development agency Corfo and the energy and transport ministries.

An objective is building a logistics ecosystem and eventually expanding the fleet following a trial period. Walmart produces hydrogen for warehouse forklift trucks. A fuel-cell van is also part of the project.

European hydrogen officials have urged Chile to weave hydrogen usage into the fabric of the economy to support development and decarbonization. 

In terms of domestic demand, energy minister Diego Pardow said small-scale projects being carried out, such as Walmart’s, allow the country to develop skills and knowledge. 

In parallel, Chile is advancing, at different rates, along the hydrogen train, car and bus highway. Sustainable fertilizer, green ammonia co-firing and synthetic LPG projects are among those also under development, the latter capable of substituting diesel without major adaptation outlay.

Small-scale projects allow the country to “dream big,” Pardow said during the event, where a central theme was the importance of spurring domestic hydrogen demand. 

A SEA permitting document corresponding to the Laredo project can be downloaded from the box at the top right of the page.