Chile-based utility group AES Andes on Thursday launched a bidding process to offer volumes of green hydrogen from a 2.5-MW electrolysis plant it will build in the country with the aim of serving corporate customers, mainly those who need the fuel for mobility applications.
The company expects it will be able to produce 1,000 kg/day of green hydrogen in the Adelaida electrolysis facility, which is due to start operation in 2024. Through the bidding process, dubbed Green Hydrogen Open Season, AES Andes is inviting companies in Chile to bid for a part or all of the hydrogen output from what it says is the first phase of the Adelaida project.
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Adelaida will be located adjacent to the company's Angamos thermal power plant in the region of Antofagasta. It will produce electrolytic hydrogen with renewable energy and desalinated water that is already made in Angamos, the company said. The project also includes the installation of two hydrogen refuelling stations for fuel-cell vehicles. Construction of the facilities will begin in mid-2023.
The Green Hydrogen Open Season process will now go through periods of consultation before bidders can start sending their offers in April 2023.
AES Andes said that its project is aimed at facilitating conditions for the massive use of hydrogen in the future and making sustainable mobility a viable option in the region. The bidding is intended to activate the market and trigger specific demand from companies in Antofagasta interested in using green hydrogen to make their operations more sustainable, CEO Javier Dib said in October while promoting the Green Hydrogen Open Season.