Chile advances on guidelines for green hydrogen use in mining

Chile’s mining authorities are setting guidelines for using green hydrogen as a fuel in the industry. 

“Mining companies are already piloting the use of hydrogen at facilities and the challenge today is to generate conditions to scale up projects and boost new initiatives,” mining and energy minister Juan Carlos Jobet was reported as saying by daily El Mercurio. 

Together with geological and mining service Sernageomin, the mining and energy ministries have prepared a guide to submit pilot projects for approval.

According to the report, the document will be presented on Tuesday, while the two ministries will also organize meetings to discuss hydrogen-related applications and evaluate progress and modify the rules as necessary. 

Figures from Chile’s mining and energy ministries show that mining haul trucks account for 45% of the sector’s energy consumption, so that by using hydrogen as a fuel miners would accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions. 

The country, the world’s top copper producer, already has three mining-related green hydrogen projects advancing.

Photo credit: Chile's mining ministry