ENAP signs agreement with six energy companies to generate the largest development of green hydrogen infrastructure in the country.
ENAP, Total Eren Chile, HIF Chile, FreePower Group, EDF Group, RWE, and HNH Energy formed an alliance to transform this infrastructure into a new large-scale industrial complex for the deployment of this industry.
Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP) took a new step to promote the development of the green hydrogen industry in the country, by signing an agreement with six international energy companies to transform the Gregorio Maritime Terminal into the largest industrial complex in the Magallanes Region and thus facilitate the production and commercialization of this fuel and its derivatives.
In the first stage, this agreement will allow feasibility studies of the project to evaluate the construction and operation requirements for the development of a new maritime terminal for the unloading of equipment and also new storage and export facilities for final products.
The strengthening of Gregorio is in line with the announcement made in April about the port of Laredo, located in the same region when ENAP signed an agreement with three international companies. This permits the acceleration of the development of this new industry through the reuse and adaptation of existing infrastructure, reducing environmental impacts and accelerating implementation times thanks to associative work.
The activity, carried out in the aforementioned terminal ─located in the area of Punta Delgada in the community of San Gregorio─ was attended by the regional governor of Magallanes, Jorge Flies; the presidential delegate, José Ruiz; representatives of the signatory companies (Total Eren Chile, HIF Chile, FreePower Group, EDF Group, RWE, and HNH Energy), ENAP’s chairwoman of the board of directors, Gloria Maldonado; ENAP’s CEO, Julio Friedmann; and the company’s union directors, among others.
“The signing of this joint development agreement is a very significant event for us as a state-owned company because it strengthens our foundational role of contributing to the strategic development of the country, its economy, and the general well-being of citizens, with an important focus on environmental sustainability,” said Gloria Maldonado, ENAP’s chairwoman of the Board of Directors.
This agreement stems from the strategy defined by ENAP to join forces that will enable and transform the region’s infrastructure, positioning it as a leader in promoting green hydrogen in the country. “Along these lines, we are convinced that public-private work is the way to facilitate the energy transition that Chile needs today,” said ENAP’s chief executive, Julio Friedmann. He added that “the signing of this agreement is part of our Enabling and Integrating Infrastructure Plan, which seeks to reconvert the industrial facilities of Laredo, Gregorio, Cabo Negro, and BahÃa Gente Grande into solutions that solve the logistical needs that H2v production will demand, using existing ENAP assets and industrial facilities as part of the 2023-2027 Business Plan.”
In the case of the Laredo Terminal, the agreement signed this year involves ENAP together with Total Eren, HIF Chile, and HNH Energy, and seeks to transform that infrastructure into the first H2v industrial center in the region. In March this year, ENAP also announced its own project to generate the first H2v molecules by 2025 at the Cabo Negro facilities, using renewable energy from the Vientos Patagónicos wind farm, in which the state-owned company is a majority shareholder.
The ENAP plan establishes open access and market rates to the facilities as indispensable assumptions for the various H2v projects. “The possibility is open for more companies to join this joint effort to strengthen the port capacity of the Magellanes Region,” concluded Friedmann.
“Given our future development in the community of San Gregorio, we hope to advance in the implementation of common infrastructures, which give feasibility to the industry, but at the same time generate synergies that avoid unnecessary socio-environmental impacts. This new step of public-private collaboration is a clear sign of the associative work that we propose to carry out in Magallanes, and that will allow us to enable a new maritime terminal, which will use the company’s historical facilities as a base, but adapt them to the demands of the new industry,” commented Total Eren Chile’s CEO, Antoine Liane.
“The development of the H2v sector challenges us to study multiple options to enhance a complementary port system through the use of existing infrastructure and the construction of new facilities, thus providing the industry with the resilience it requires. We value the opportunity to collaborate again with ENAP on a project that will advance in parallel with the work that we have been carrying out for more than two years as HNH Energy in the development of a private port solution for public use open to multiple projects in the Region,” said the representative of HNH Energy, Pablo Schoennenbeck.
On behalf of the EDF Group (Électricité de France), EDF Renewables Chile CEO, MatÃas Steinacker, highlighted this public-private initiative as a concrete sign that companies are considering the concerns of the region and as an excellent step that demonstrates the spirit of collaboration and the search for synergies to develop a sustainable industry.
For his part, HIF Global’s Latin American regional manager, Victor Turpaud said that “this agreement is another relevant step for the advancement of the industry in Magallanes, it also shows a virtuous alliance, in which the public and private sectors work together not only for the development of green hydrogen but to bring new opportunities for the region and combat -from Chile- climate change with clean energy.”
For FreePower Group’s founder and CEO, Juan Walker, “this project is an important step in the right direction for the future not only of green hydrogen but also for Chile to be a relevant and competitive player in the market of this industry. This agreement will allow the development – harmonic and sustainable – of the necessary infrastructure for collection and storage to transport equipment and machinery of this resource.”
For RWE’s country manager in Chile, Alfredo Zañartu, this agreement with ENAP, and therefore with the Chilean state, is fundamental for the development of the enormous potential that we have as a country and especially the Magallanes Region to become a world leader in the export of green hydrogen and its derivatives. “Undoubtedly, the public-private alliance, particularly considering ENAP’s existing infrastructure in the region, is key to achieving this, and that is why, as a company, we are happy to participate in this agreement through our green ammonia production project “Vientos Magallánicos” located in the district of Laguna Blanca,” explains Zañartu.
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