Dutch companies plan green hydrogen corridor with Chile

Representatives of Dutch companies, including the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Amsterdam, consultants, and storage and transport service providers, have set out to explore the possibilities of developing a green hydrogen export corridor with Chile.

This “Green H2 Trade Mission” to Chile is organized by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) in close cooperation with the Chilean Ministry of Energy and ProChile (responsible for promoting Chile abroad).

The focus is on the hydrogen infrastructure needed to secure the supply chain for green hydrogen (production, storage, transport, distribution) and on formulating the conditions for establishing an import-export corridor between Chile and Europe.

Social and economic impacts will also be considered, and the possibilities for concrete applications for the local energy transition will be explored.

Issues such as certification, regulations, environmental impact, trade, technologies, human capital, and infrastructure development are on the agenda.

Territorial aspects will also be explored. Visits to the main hydrogen centers in the South American country are planned, as well as meetings with companies and local authorities to discuss opportunities and challenges for green hydrogen production, export, and local energy transition.

Interest in this hydrogen mission is high as Chile’s strategy aims to become one of the world’s largest and potentially most competitive renewable energy producers by 2030.

“As a government, we are committed to ensuring that Chile takes advantage of the opportunities offered by our abundant natural resources, such as the sun in the Atacama Desert and the wind in Patagonia.

“To this end, we are taking on the challenge of developing a sustainable green hydrogen industry, thinking not only about production but also about generating new knowledge that will translate into innovation,” said Diego Pardow, Chilean Minister of Energy.

“Europe will need about 20 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030. The Netherlands has the ports to import hydrogen and one of the most advanced energy infrastructures to distribute hydrogen to other European countries,” added Carmen Gonsalves, ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Chile.

European countries have been looking for ways to meet the growing demand for hydrogen amid the global energy security crisis.

In May of this year, the European Commission, Hydrogen Europe, and relevant companies signed a joint statement setting out a strategy to double the existing EU renewable hydrogen target to 10 million tons of annual domestic production and an additional 10 million tons of annual hydrogen imports.

In this context, the Netherlands recently became the first European country to issue green certificates of origin for hydrogen, following a pilot test by the HyXchange hydrogen exchange initiative.

The system was evaluated in collaboration with Vertogas, the certification body for biogas, and now also for green hydrogen.

The Netherlands has passed legislation on the subject, implementing a European directive at the national level.

Vertogas has been appointed by the minister to issue the certificates for hydrogen and has recently developed a certification system suitable for this new task.

The certificates of origin confirm that hydrogen is produced from green electricity. Currently, the system is only Dutch and, therefore, only valid within the Netherlands.

It makes the Netherlands the first country to introduce this system. An international system of hydrogen certificates based on European regulations, which is still under discussion, is expected at a later stage.

With information from Latina Press