This is the first cargo vehicle that obtains the homologation by the Ministry of Transport and that allows it to travel on the streets of the country. The truck is part of the Technological Program (PTEC) Hidrohaul, financed by Corfo, on incorporation of green hydrogen in the national economy.
The Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications made official the granting of the homologation certificate of the first truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells in Chile, vehicle that is part of the Technological Program (PTEC) Hidrohaul, led by Ingeniería Eléctrica IEE Ltda., together with Mining3 and Marval, and its partners Walmart and Copec. This PTEC is financed by Corfo and will provide the first vehicle of its kind authorized to operate on national public roads.
The certification issued by the Vehicle Control and Certification Center (3CV) represents a transcendental advance towards zero-emission logistics and transportation and consolidates the commitment of the program’s member companies and public institutions in the energy transformation of the sector.
In view of this unprecedented milestone, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz, indicated that “achieving this approval by our 3CV team puts our country at the forefront in the promotion of new energies. An example is the approval we made, more than 2 years ago, to a vehicle that works with hydrogen fuel cell, which shows that there is a sense of concrete innovation that seeks to test in our streets actions that allow bringing our country closer to the commitments to achieve carbon neutrality”.
For Corfo’s executive vice-president, José Miguel Benavente, obtaining the homologation certificate is a powerful signal for decision-makers in the land transport and logistics industry. “It is time to start adopting the necessary investment decisions to accelerate the transformation of operations based on fossil fuels to more sustainable and cleaner technologies; a demonstration is this cargo unit that in a few more months will be able to circulate on the streets of Chile powered by hydrogen produced on national soil,” said the head of Corfo.
He recalled that the Corporation is promoting several instruments to encourage the incorporation of green hydrogen as energy in the electromobility process and that “soon we will have in the country the first factories and assemblers of electrolyzers to produce hydrogen on an industrial scale on Chilean land, which is accompanied by other lines of financing for the manufacture of wind systems in Chile or other enabling sectors of the hydrogen industry.”
Meanwhile, María José Lambert, general manager of the HidroHaul Program, valued the joint work that has made this advance possible. “This milestone is the result of an exemplary public-private collaboration, which demonstrates how innovation and technological development projects can advance when there is a shared vision and a real commitment of all the actors involved.”
Towards decarbonization
In this regard, Ignacio Gomez, Technology, Innovation and Strategy Manager of Walmart commented that “we receive this milestone of the certification of the first H2 truck with great joy as it is a big step on the road to the installation of Green Hydrogen as a vehicle for growth in Walmart’s ambitions towards Decarbonization. We look forward to having the Hydrogen Dispenser operational in our Distribution Center before the end of the year to start distributing to our stores with this technology”.
This zero-emission vehicle has the capacity to store up to 75 kg of hydrogen, giving it a range of approximately 750 km. In addition, it can transport up to 49 tons of combined gross weight, matching the performance of diesel trucks, but without releasing polluting gases, which represents a significant advance towards a cleaner mobility.
Marval -which is also an anchor company of Hyvolution Chile 2025-, through its Clean Logistics division, in its role as logistics operator and key player in the project in the acquisition and operation of the cargo vehicle, highlighted the importance of the milestone through its general manager, Guillermo Barros. “This is a milestone for logistics and for the country. Being pioneers in this technology not only reaffirms our commitment to sustainability, but also positions us as protagonists in Chile’s energy transformation.”
With this certification, Chile joins the select group of countries that have already taken concrete steps towards the incorporation of green hydrogen as a source of energy for heavy transport, aligning with national and international commitments to carbon neutrality and energy efficiency.
Read more at Portal Minero.