Chile’s Enap awards green hydrogen plant construction contract

Chile’s state oil and gas company Enap has taken a major step along the green hydrogen highway.

The firm has awarded a construction contract for its first plant, a 1MW electrolyzer facility that will be built at its Cabo Negro industrial complex in windswept southern region Magallanes.

Key objectives are building knowledge and experience in green hydrogen production and use.

The facility, due to start pumping out green hydrogen in 2025, will be used for supplying vehicles and a cracking plant furnace, among other applications. The Enap majority-owned 10.4MW wind park Vientos Patagónicos will provide emissions-free electricity. 

Enap had said last year that a Magallanes pilot plant was on the drawing board.

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

“Enap will be the first company to produce green hydrogen as a final product in Magallanes, and it is an important step in the objective that we have set for ourselves of being the most significant player to facilitate the energy transition in our country, through the continuous development of better fuels,” Enap CEO Julio Friedmann said in a release.

“We at Neumann & Esser, as global experts in the hydrogen value chain, see Enap’s pioneering spirit and the technological complexity of this important and challenging project as highlights,” its managing director Marcelo Veneros said. 

“Aligned with global decarbonization policies, Enap’s strategic vision promotes national self-supply and contributes to the development of the green hydrogen economy in Chile, complementing the country's objective of being an exporter of this sustainable energy vector.”

The Enap plant will join the HIF Global-led demonstration facility Haru Oni, operating in Magallanes and geared to producing green hydrogen derivative synthetic gasoline. In Magallanes, Enap operates in the upstream and midstream hydrocarbons sectors. 

Meanwhile, along with its pilot plant, Enap has plans to develop logistics infrastructure for green hydrogen and its derivatives in Magallanes.

Last year, the company inked an agreement with Total Eren, HIF Chile and HNH Energy to reconfigure its Laredo terminal to facilitate the importation of goods and equipment for the industry.

Enap has also signed an agreement with Total Eren Chile, FreePower Group, HIF Chile, Grupo EDF, RWE and HNH Energy concerning a US$700mn project to develop a hydrogen and derivatives logistics terminal at San Gregorio.

In addition, the company is exploring renewable and low-carbon fuel production options at its three refineries.    

Around 60 green hydrogen projects have been publicly announced in Chile, some geared to the export market, others to domestic offtakers and some to both. The bulk are in Magallanes and Chile’s north. 

A major focus today is securing offtake contracts and financing.