Engie, Enaex plan green hydrogen-to-ammonia projects in Chile

Engie Latam SA is seeking to build a pilot green hydrogen plant in the Antofagasta region of Chile to feed a green ammonia facility proposed by Chilean ammonium nitrate producer and industrial explosives supplier Enaex SA.

Both companies last week filed environmental impact statements (EIS) to the corresponding authority in Antofagasta describing elements of their projects.

Engie Latam, a company through which French energy group Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) controls its Chilean electric utility, is proposing to set up an array of electrolysers totalling around 26 MW and a hydrogen compression and storage station.

Engie’s project, dubbed HyEx - Green Hydrogen Production, will entail an investment of USD 47 million (EUR 40.1m), the company said in the EIS.

The plant would be located outside of the city of Tocopilla, where Engie runs a thermoelectric power plant that will supply the demineralised water. The project site is also rich in solar resource, on which Engie is counting for the supply of renewable energy, according to the EIS.

In a document filed separately, Enaex proposed the HyEx - Green Ammonia Synthesis project, a plan for a USD-49-million plant capable of producing 18,000 tonnes of ammonia using atmospheric air and Engie’s hydrogen.

The green ammonia plant and Engie’s green hydrogen production would be located near each other and connected with a hydrogen pipeline. Enaex would ship the ammonia to its plant in the city of Mejillones and use it to produce ammonium nitrate, the company’s EIS states.

Both Enaex and Engie expect to commission their plants in June 2025.

If Engie’s pilot plant results in a success, the utility would consider setting up a larger green hydrogen project in Antofagasta, with up to 2,000 MW of electrolysis capacity and with Enaex as the hydrogen off-taker, Engie Chile said separately in a press release.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 1.173)

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