International organizations debate in Chile the global challenges of the green hydrogen and lithium industries

This is an automated translation of the original release published in Spanish.

PRESS RELEASE from Corfo
June 6, 2024

Green Hydrogen was debated this week in the capital. In addition to the multiple exhibitions within the framework of the 4th Hydrogen Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean organized by H2Lac, Corfo has become, this week, the setting for a series of meetings with international organizations where decarbonization and the challenges of The Green Hydrogen and Lithium industries are in the center of attention.

This afternoon and with the aim of fostering a dialogue between representatives of the public, private and academic sectors about Chile's commitment to the development of the green hydrogen industry and sharing significant advances in this emerging industry, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ian Goldfajn, held a meeting in which the Ministers of Economy, Development and Tourism, Nicolás Grau, and Energy, Diego Pardow, participated, along with the Executive Vice President of Corfo, José Miguel Benavente, the Vice President of BancoEstado, Verónica Kunze and the Executive Director of the Corfo Green Hydrogen Committee, Ana María Ruz. Representatives from H2Chile, Abastible, Walmart, Reborn Electric Motors and Inacap were also present.

During the event, Minister Pardow referred to the progress of the Green Hydrogen strategy and Action Plan, while Minister Grau highlighted the search for public-private agreements and the coordinating role of the Corfo Green Hydrogen Committee. For their part, representatives of the private sector gave an account of their various initiatives and the key issues that impact the development of the industry.

Corfo, meanwhile, addressed the actions they have promoted seeking to maximize the impact of investments through subsidies to increase local demand for H2V, finance training programs for specialized talents, develop technical standards, promote innovation through research projects and technological development, and support entrepreneurship through subsidies to entrepreneurs and startups in the H2V value chain, under the guidance of the National H2V Strategy and its action plan, which establishes the margins of the promotion instruments, as well as social and environmental standards. for the development of the industry. In this sense, the call for the manufacture or assembly of electrolyzers on national soil stands out, which opened on May 17 and closes on October 30, which will allow the delivery of a state subsidy of 60% of each project with a limit of US$10 million.

Other examples of the development of the green hydrogen industry include projects led by Abastible SA and Reborn Electric Motors SpA. Abastible will begin developing a project that will seek to design, validate, package and transfer liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) blending solutions and natural gas (NG) with green hydrogen (H2V). For its part, Reborn Electric Motors is implementing a project to develop and validate a hydrogen passenger transport bus, with an electric power train that uses fuel cells and batteries. This bus, designed for mining, will cover long routes with short recharging times, introducing innovation as a solution for mining in the national territory.

IMF and World Bank

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Executive Vice President of Corfo met with Andrea Schaechter, Head of the Mission for Chile of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and Rodrigo Alfaro, executive director of the IMF's Southern Cone Chair, for the review of the Flexible Credit Line granted to Chile by the international organization. On the occasion, matters related to the lithium industry, the recent strategic agreement between Codelco and SQM and the projections of the Green Hydrogen industry, among others, were discussed.

José Miguel Benavente finally met with the representative of the World Bank, María Marcela Silva, with whom he addressed aspects related to the implementation of the H2v facility.