Chile on Friday commenced in its southern region of Magallanes the construction of the largest project in Latin America to produce synthetic gasoline from green hydrogen.
With an investment of 51 million U.S. dollars, the Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF) consortium's Haru Oni project will use wind power and carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere to produce 350 tons of crude methanol as well as 130,000 liters of e-Fuel a year by the end of 2022, according to the company.
"This is the decade to make the economy carbon-free," said Chilean Minister of Energy and Mining Juan Carlos Jobet, who participated virtually in the groundbreaking ceremony.
"Haru Oni's success will be Chile's success, as well as a decisive contribution to the global community," Jobet added.
HIF president Cesar Norton said the project "can radically change transportation's current sources of energy, providing clean fuels for automobiles and helping to decarbonize the planet."
The plant, which will take an estimated 11 months to build with a life span of 25 years, will cover approximately 3.7 hectares within Estancia Tehuel Aike, a livestock center in the regional capital Punta Arenas.
According to a study by Chile's Energy Ministry, the country's southernmost Magallanes and Antarctica region could produce 13 percent of the world's green hydrogen.
Official data showed that green hydrogen could help Chile reduce its greenhouse emissions by 17-27 percent to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
It could also help cut Chile's use of non-renewable energy sources by 10 percent by 2030 for a cumulative savings of 15.2 billion U.S. dollars and a reduction of 28.6 million tons of carbon dioxide.
