Santiago, Chile.- In the context of the event "Technology with Purpose, the future of green hydrogen and desalination in Chile" held on Wednesday at Hotel W in Santiago and organized by Siemens, a German company recognized for its digitalization solutions, automation and mission to connect the digital world with the physical world, took place the signing of the Mutual Collaboration Agreement (MOU) between the technology giant supplying power generation and transmission systems and Verano Energy, an international holding company specialized in the development and financing, construction, operation and maintenance of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in Chile and Latin America.
Prior to the agreement, a panel with relevant actors of the energy sector was held, headed by the Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Nicolás Grau; the former Minister of Energy and Mining and current Dean of the Business School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Juan Carlos Jobet; the Vice President of the Chilean Hydrogen Association and Head of H2 Business Development at Engie Chile, Asunción Borras; the Vice President of Colbún, Bernardo Larraín; and the President of Siemens AG, Dr. Roland Busch. All agreed on Chile's unparalleled potential in the development of Green Hydrogen projects where both the public and private sectors must make every effort to accelerate this industry, with a view to a more sustainable future, generate more quality jobs, technology transfer, export and decarbonization.
The seminar was followed by the signing of the agreement between Siemens and Verano Energy, company that was represented by its CEO Dylan Rudney, COO Collin Hamilton, CFO Juan Wegner, and Country Manager Chile, Carolina Galleguillos.
"Chile has a great opportunity to push the energy transformation towards a green economy. It has renewable energies, a powerful state strategy for green hydrogen and desalination, and it also has minerals such as copper and lithium, all of which play in favor of energy transformation. We think that, if you really want to make the transformation to green hydrogen, it must be based on digital technology and automation. At Siemens we focus on markets and customers that lead these transformations, and that is what we are doing in Chile as well," explained Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens and one of the most powerful executives in Europe.
Meanwhile, Verano Energy CEO Dylan Rudney said, "We are dedicated to the goal of NetZero, and to that end, we are firmly advancing with the development of the 20 GW "Los Amigos del Verano" green hydrogen project, which is strategically located in Chile’s Atacama desert, which has the best solar resource in the world and the best wind resource in northern Chile, resulting in the world’s lowest LCOA (“levelized cost of ammonia”). We have obtained land both in the interior of the country for the production of renewable energy, and on the coast for the production and exploration of over 5,000 kilotons through its five phases. We believe in synergistic agreements with world leading companies in climate change among other things, and we are very happy to sign this agreement with Siemens considering its significance in the future of green hydrogen projects and look forward to a long term mutual collaboration",
During the meeting, Siemens also entered into a collaboration agreement with two other industry companies: Albemarle and Crasma.
In a world facing global energy and environmental challenges, including water scarcity, these agreements represent the beginning of an unprecedented collaboration with a view to generating positive impact, without losing sight of the joint search for innovative solutions focused on growth and sustainable development hand in hand with non-conventional renewable energies and digitalization, where the business and industrial sectors are major players in contributing knowledge, experience and resources to promote transformative projects.
About Verano Energy
Verano Energy LLC is an international holding company composed of 5 integrated divisions, specialized in the development and financing, construction, operation and maintenance of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects, in order to generate electricity through renewable energy and clean fuels. It incorporates foreign capital but its head office is in Chile. Its development began 12 years ago being one of the pioneers in the solar PMGD market (Small Means of Distributed Generation) that allowed the growth towards more countries and technologies that has positioned VE today as a leading company in clean energy and fuels in the Region. It has developed a portfolio of large-scale renewable energy and green hydrogen projects consisting of approximately 3 GW and 26 GW respectively. Its current portfolio is nearly 100 projects and reduces CO2 emissions in each region where its projects are located through clean energy generation (to date over 1.5 million tons of CO2 reduction). VE works with all local communities to generate voluntary commitments to improve local conditions.
-About the Green Hydrogen project "Los Amigos del Verano", Antofagasta:
It is a green hydrogen production complex through electrolysis, located in the commune of Taltal, Antofagasta region. The project has 4 phases: Phases 1, 2 and 3 contemplate two hydrogen generation plants of 2.5 GW each. Phase 4 projects four 2.5 GW hydrogen generation plants, which would eventually produce 25 GW, with an initial investment of US$2.9 billion. The resulting product (hydrogen and ammonia) will be transported by pipeline to the coast (approximately 100 km) to a marine storage and distribution facility. In addition, the project contemplates desalination plants through which the water required to carry out the process will be obtained. The project is expected to start construction in 2025, with phase 1 coming into operation in 2027 and phase 4 coming into operation in 2033.
