Cerro Dominador wins contest for cofunding of a study of green hydrogen projects

Cerro Dominador was awarded 100% of its application and as a result, it will conduct a study with CEA-Liten (a French institute engaged in energy transition) to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing green hydrogen and fuels using 24/7 clean energy.

Cerro Dominador was one of the 8 companies selected to receive co-funding for pre-investment studies of green hydrogen projects. This was part of a contest sponsored by the European Union and the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development (Agcid), held by the Ministry of Energy and Corfo, Chile’s National Production Development Association.

Its goal is to accelerate the development of projects for the production, storage, transmission and/or use green energy that will activate the energy industry in Chile and help move it towards carbon-neutrality by the year 2050.

Cerro Dominador was awarded 100% of its application and thanks to this co-funding, it will conduct a study with CEA-Liten (a French institute engaged in energy transition) to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing green hydrogen and fuels using 24/7 clean energy from the combination of photovoltaic power and concentrated solar power of the Cerro Dominador Complex. This complex has a pioneer system for the storage of 17.5 hours of energy, which means it can supply energy to satisfy demand in all hours of the day.

As Fernando González, CEO of Cerro Dominador, remarked: “The Cerro Dominador project will help satisfy the increasing demand for green hydrogen for passenger carriage, long-distance heavy cargo carriage and large-scale mining, in addition to producing ammonia for local and international demand.  Using  green hydrogen and fuels derived from the clean energy produced by photovoltaic and concentrated solar power technologies will be the engine behind the transformation of the Chilean energy matrix.”

CEA-Liten is very proud of make this alliance with a pioneer project like that of Cerro Dominador. In the words of Robin Hervé, CEA-Liten’s representative in Chile, “As a technology institute, we aim to support the industry in the move towards the energy transition by working with it to accelerate its technical and economic competitiveness in the production and use of green hydrogen in Chile. And that is exactly what we intend to do with this alliance.”

Cerro Dominador is a benchmark in the development and management of renewable energy technologies in Chile. Its projects are framed in a policy of innovation, competitiveness and integrity for a sustainable future.   The 100 MW photovoltaic plant of Cerro Dominador is in operation and has been supplying electricity to the system since July 2017. The CSP plant has been generating energy since May of this year. The Cerro Dominador solar complex will produce 100% renewable hydrogen, taking advantage of the enormous potential in the north of Chile, and it will provide new alternatives to people and companies in Chile to choose to accelerate decarbonization and make a contribution to the energy transition.

Juan Carlos Jobet, Minister of Energy, discussed the progress that this initiative implies: “International cooperation will help us speed up and support the development of green hydrogen projects in our country. The National Green Hydrogen Strategy that we launched some time ago aims to make the country a world leader in hydrogen research, development, production and export through a process of collaboration and openness to foreign investment.”

León de la Torre, European Union Ambassador, congratulated Cerro Dominador and said:   “The green transition must be combined with access to clean, affordable and safe energy for companies and consumers, just like what concentrated solar power does. We are therefore pleased to cooperate once again with Cerro Dominador by co-funding the study with Chile to progress in developing green hydrogen innovation.”

The contest targeted companies that plan to develop and/or implement soon any form of green hydrogen investment project, whetherfor  power generation, use in transport, mixing in gas networks or the production of green inputs for industry. The results are expected to contribute significantly to investment initiatives in this sector in the country, aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Strategy.

It is funded by the Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition Chile-EU signed by the General Directorate of International Associations of the European Union and AGCID in December 2019. The purpose is to promote and support innovative sustainable development in Chile.