Magallanes hydrogen logistics infrastructure project studies progressing

Studies-phase work corresponding to two green hydrogen infrastructure projects in southern Chilean region Magallanes is advancing. 

The initiatives fall under the banner of agreements inked between state oil company Enap and e-fuels pioneer HIF Global and other private sector players.

An objective is using, adapting and expanding existing Enap assets to help support hydrogen sector development in the barren, windswept region.

Leveraging existing infrastructure is deemed necessary to help minimize environmental footprint and boost project economics, among key focuses today for green hydrogen and derivatives developers across the globe.

The Laredo terminal project is designed to support the initial entrance into the region, via ship, of equipment and machinery for large-scale plants, such as wind turbines.  

“Advancing! In the case of Laredo, development of conceptual engineering is in progress, environmental diagnostics and studies for a maritime concession application,” HIF Global’s COO, Clara Bowman, said in an emailed interview with BNamericas that will be published next week.

An objective is having the roughly US$60mn project operational in 2026-27, BNamericas reported recently. The other parties that inked the 2023 agreement were Total Eren and HNH Energy.

Elsewhere on the infrastructure project map, HIF and Enap – along with EDF, Total Eren Chile, HNH Energy, FreePower Group and RWE – signed a Magallanes studies MOU, also in 2023, concerning the transformation of Enap’s San Gregorio terminal into an industrial complex.

“At San Gregorio, development of conceptual engineering has advanced, too,” Bowman said. “Environmental baseline studies and port design alternatives, based on different product loading and unloading requirements.”

Enap is building a pilot green hydrogen project at its Cabo Negro complex in Magallanes. 

HIF, meanwhile, built the trailblazing Haru Oni plant in Magallanes - the first of the kind in the world - to test associated production technologies ahead of planned scale-ups. 

In terms of large-scale production, the company’s Cabo Negro e-fuels project and an associated wind park, Faro del Sur, are in the environmental review phase. Planned production is 175,000t/y of e-methanol.

In terms of a construction start date, Bowman said: "This depends on how the environmental processing of the plant and wind park advances; we're interested in starting as soon as possible."

Some 70 green hydrogen and derivatives projects have been publicly announced in Chile. 

Supplier ecosystem studies, targeting Magallanes, are underway.

Beyond Chile, HIF has projects in Uruguay, Australia and the US. 

Construction of the US plant, in Texas, could get underway next year. Capacity is 1.4Mt/y of e-methanol.

Made by combining green hydrogen and recycled carbon dioxide, e-methanol can be used as a final product, such as shipping fuel, or converted into other e-fuels for the likes of car and jet engines.

An associated challenge globally is bridging, in the early phases, the price gap between traditional hydrocarbons and green hydrogen and its derivatives.

While Chile has multiple export-focused projects, particularly in Magallanes, European hydrogen officials have urged the country to also weave hydrogen and derivatives usage into the fabric of the economy to support development and decarbonization, to help break the initial inertia. 

BNamericas will publish the full Q&A with Bowman next week.