Chile signs agreement with Germany's largest port for green hydrogen exports

The Minister of Energy, Claudio Huepe, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the City-State of Hamburg, represented by its Mayor and Governor, and the Port Authority of the same German city, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to join forces and make green hydrogen flows between Chile and Europe a reality.

The Port of Hamburg is the third busiest port on the european continent, located in a strategic position due to its proximity to major consumption centers. It plays an important role as an energy center for Central and Western Europe.

The green hydrogen produced in Chile in the coming years will be used, in the first place, to meet domestic demand and in a second stage, to generate conditions for exporting to other parts of the world, making the Port of Hamburg one of the centers for the supply of green hydrogen in Central and Western Europe.

The signing ceremony - part of a tour that German authorities are carrying out in the region - took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Ximena Fuentes, the Minister of Energy, Claudio Huepe, and ProChile's Marketing Director, Claudia Serrer.

"The Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and the Port Authority of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg is of upmost importance for Chile and is part of a broader cooperation that the Ministry of Energy is implementing with major European ports," said the Minister of Energy.

He added: "Our objective is to jointly create the necessary conditions for the early export/import of hydrogen and its by-products to Hamburg and Central Europe, to promote the rapid development of a self-sustaining hydrogen market in both regions".

The Mayor of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschenscher, explained that "the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Hamburg, the Hamburg Port Authority and the Chilean Ministry of Energy is a solid basis for a successful future cooperation. With its great potential for the production of green hydrogen, Chile is on the verge of becoming an exporter of global magnitude. Hamburg is Europe's third largest port and offers excellent conditions for the import and distribution of energy carriers, such as hydrogen based on renewable energies. Together, Chile and Hamburg can create a strong energy partnership between South America and Europe".

Chile and Germany understand that green hydrogen transport will be one of the most appropriate and important ways to move towards the decarbonization of hard-to-reduce sectors such as shipping, aviation, steel, among others.

In this sense, the Undersecretary Ximena Fuentes stressed that the signing of this memorandum of understanding "materializes once again the commitment that Chile and Germany have made in the environmental and energy agenda, in which they have worked together under the Energy Partnership. The signing of this instrument with Hamburg is a further step in this direction, as it will enable the exchange of information and the feasibility of shipments of green hydrogen from our country to Central Europe. In cooperation with Hamburg and Germany, this is a concrete contribution that Chile will be able to offer to the world, facing a global and pressing problem such as climate change," said the authority.

The parties recognized the importance of the long trade tradition between the Hanseatic City of Hamburg and Chilean ports and the relevance of the broader trade relationship between Germany and Chile, so they will work together to strengthen connections between the relevant actors in the hydrogen value chain in both regions.

"This activity is part of the strategy and collaborative work between different public entities, such as the Ministry of Energy, Corfo and InvestChile. ProChile, through its power to promote exports in our country, constantly supports this type of missions through its network of regional offices and the 56 commercial offices in the main markets of the world, connecting the development of this type of projects with the main international ecosystems. This is a series of actions that are part of our action plan, which focuses on linking Chilean companies with international markets in order to support the strengthening of this new industry in our country. Through this plan we hope to effectively contribute to the positioning of Chile as a relevant player worldwide in the green hydrogen market," said Paulina Valderrama, general director (s) of ProChile.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Energy has already signed a MoU with the Port of Rotterdam and another with the Port of Antwerp to consolidate the production of green hydrogen in Chile and the use of this or its derivatives in Europe.