Colbún and Sumitomo sign alliance to develop green hydrogen projects to produce ammonia

Sumitomo Corporation Group, one of the largest Japanese corporations in the world, and the energy generation and solutions company Colbún, announced the formation of an alliance to study the feasibility to develop green hydrogen projects aimed at producing green ammonia in the regions of Antofagasta and Magallanes.

To this end, the president of Sumitomo Corporation Chile, Taizo Hayakawa, and the CEO of Colbún S.A., José Ignacio Escobar, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that defines the scope and objective of this alliance.

In the case of the Antofagasta Region, for the production of Green Hydrogen, the feasibility of providing part of the renewable energy supply with the Inti Pacha photovoltaic solar project (486 MW, commune of María Elena) of Colbún, which already has environmental approval. Inti Pacha, together with other photovoltaic initiatives of Colbún, will supply the energy necessary to execute this project. Regarding the export of ammonia, the feasibility of using the logistics and port facilities of Interacid, Sumitomo's port subsidiary located in Mejillones that today is mainly dedicated the import of sulphuric acid and mining fuels.

Regarding the Magallanes Region, the agreement points to a green ammonia project with a production potential of 1,000,000 tons per year, and includes feasibility studies for: port facilities, generation renewable energy and the development of infrastructure to produce hydrogen, among others.

Role of Green Ammonia

Green ammonia is an element produced from green hydrogen and as such is part of its value chain. It is considered an energy vector, that is, it can be used to store and transport energy and, in comparison, With hydrogen, ammonia is a much easier element to store, transport and distribute. Although today it is mainly used in the fertilizer and explosives industries, worldwide they are being promoted technologies that allow ammonia to be used to produce electricity through fuel cells (such as hydrogen) or in a turbine such as gas, but without generating CO2 emissions.

José Ignacio Escobar, CEO of Colbún, highlighted the importance of this milestone within the strategic agenda that Colbún has defined for 2030. "We are honored to be able to develop together with Sumitomo. These large-scale green ammonia projects. It is a tremendously important step, which will allow us to consolidate our growth strategy based on new technologies -within which the green hydrogen, and its different forms of conversion – and in turn advance in transforming our country into a power of green hydrogen and its derivatives both for Chile and for the world". The executive also He emphasized that green hydrogen – and the ammonia produced from it – represent to date one of the best options to advance in the energy transition and decarbonize certain industries. where direct electrification does not appear today as feasible.

For his part, Taizo Hayakawa, President Sumitomo Corporation Chile, stated: "Colbún is a company with a lot of experience in the development of green energy in Chile and has an important know-how on how to develop projects, even in extreme areas. Together with Colbún we can develop very competitive and feasible projects to supply green ammonia to Chile, Japan and the whole world."

Guillermo Figueroa, General Manager of Carbon Neutral Projects of Sumitomo Corporation Chile, referred to the alliance: "This agreement will allow us to join forces with Colbún, generating synergies to expedite the study and development of large-scale hydrogen and green ammonia projects. Together, we can add greater value for the integration of renewables with green hydrogen production with the goal of producing the most competitive green ammonia for the market."

It should be noted that, in order to promote Green Hydrogen as a new business opportunity in line with Colbún's growth strategy, in June 2022 Colbún created the Hydrogen Management Green, by Juan Pablo Fiedler. "Our Green Hydrogen strategy has two focuses. One, linked to the domestic market, where we see that it can be a relevant option for the decarbonization of our customers, or potential customers, in Chile or Peru. And the second focus aims to contribute to Chile positioning itself as a relevant player in this industry worldwide," said Fiedler.