The British company Wood PLC, founded more than 160 years ago, has been working on green hydrogen projects in Chile for three years, mainly in Magallanes. It has been part of numerous hydrogen fairs and congresses around the world, many of them focused on an elite or technical audience. Hyvolution Chile, notes Darren Ledermann, its energy transition manager, “mixes both audiences and it is possible to participate in talks and panels with ministers and senior executives”.
At the same time, Ledermann continues, the fair shows the more technical aspects of the technological innovations and projects available to a wider public, which includes the participation of technical-professional schools within this great new ecosystem. “This diversity of audiences and exhibitors allows expanding the general knowledge of hydrogen issues within the country and allows bringing to Chile and Latin America the knowledge that is being developed worldwide”.
Chile at the center
“The possibility of having this window, Hyvolution, in the country is unique and should be used to the maximum to grow the hydrogen world from our country,” Ledermann emphasizes. In collaboration with academic institutions, such as the University of Magallanes, and other actors, Wood has been concerned with understanding the dynamics of an extreme area of the country, with “many singularities compared to projects carried out in mining or highly industrialized areas”.
The alliance between private companies and academia, Ledermann continues, “will only grow to improve development capabilities both nationally and internationally”. It is fundamental for the development of Chile, “to start incorporating technical and professional schools and institutes in these collaborations to advance in the formation of human capital ready for when the projects are under construction and operation”.
Wood, together with Fraunhofer Chile, presented the keynote “Chile: Innovation Hub for Green Hydrogen and its Derivatives” at the recent World Hydrogen Summit held in Rotterdam. In this regard, Ledermann points out: “we had the honor of presenting H2 Tech in one of the stages of the Rotterdam fair, which being the largest in the world for H2 represents an important window to the world to show what is being done from Chile”.
“What we were able to present together from each other’s perspective is related to the level of projects that are being developed in Chile on a large scale and how we can consider green hydrogen derivatives as energy carriers for export to the rest of the world and also for local consumption,” Ledermann continues.
Multi-sector collaboration for development
Ledermann is also part of the board of the Chilean Hydrogen Association (H2 Chile). Asked about the relevance of this body for the promotion of the green hydrogen industry in the country, he points out that “grouping the different participants in a single instance allows the industry to meet in a common point to support the development of this new energy market that will be vital for the decarbonization of the industrial matrix of the country and the world in general”.
“Thus, H2 Chile is an essential articulator to bring together these actors, understand the needs of each one and see how we can work together, even competitors, for the common good of the industry and the country”, concludes Ledermann, “There is much we can contribute in knowledge and dissemination for the general public, the political and business class to know the potential of this industry in the country, the world and how we can all be part of this energy revolution.