Hydrogen Task Force Meetings

Following the signing of the agreement on the promotion of green hydrogen by the Chilean and German energy ministries, the work of the so-called "Green Hydrogen Task Force" has, within the framework of the Energy Partnership Chile-Alemania, been focused on the sustainability criteria of green hydrogen. Together with experts on this topic, the Task Force had the participation of members from the Chilean Ministry of Energy, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

First Meeting

The first meeting of the Task Force took place on November 17th, 2021, centered on the presentation of the results of the study on sustainability criteria for the certification of green hydrogen production, where the different currently applied sustainability criteria of hydrogen certification schemes available in Europe, and those that are not currently applied but could be applied to hydrogen certification, were analysed and prioritised. This topic gave rise to a discussion on the criteria that would be most relevant for the production of these products in Chile, highlighting the importance of private sector participation.

Second Meeting

The second meeting of the Task Force was held on January 26th, 2022, where the perception of future green hydrogen consumers on the sustainability criteria provided by the study was discussed. Among the conclusions, the criteria "labour rights in producer countries" and "future price of CO2" were deemed of lower relevance. In addition, CORFO presented the results of the funding competition for hydrogen projects in Chile.

Third Meeting

The third meeting of the Task Force was held on June 13th, 2022, in the framework of a delegation of political, industry and research representatives led by the Parliamentary State Secretary Franziska Brantner of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) to Chile. The exchange in the Task Force about German and Chilean Green Hydrogen Policy and international H2 projects was led by Dr Christine Falken-Grosser, Head of Division Bilateral Energy Cooperation, BMWK and Beatriz Hernandez, Head International Affairs Office, at the Chilean Ministry of Energy, with expert professionals from the Hydrocarbons and New Energy Carriers Division present.

As a result of this meeting, there were taken several decisions such as the continuation of the Task Force as well as new topis regarding (port) infrastructure and job trainings, local benefits and acceptance.

Following meetings number Four and Five

In 2023, two Task Force meetings were held. On May 09th, special attention was paid to cooperation with the private sector. The project funding instrument H2Uppp was presented and its implementation was explained based on a concrete example.

To promote project development along the entire supply chain, various financing instruments are needed that, on the one hand, promote production and stimulate private investment on both the producer and off taker side. In this respect, the Task Force meeting on 25 October, provided the Chilean side with recommendations for action on how to promote local production with the help of smart financing instruments.

Task Force in 2024

In 2024, the political exchange is to focus on supporting the development of renewable hydrogen in Chile funded by the Financial Line, as an umbrella for the three initiatives in funding of the EU/BMWK co-financing project “Team Europe for the Development of Renewable Hydrogen” (RH2). The RH2 project is building an online FSA dashboard that includes a portal for developers to deliver transparency and provide data insights on the stage and types of projects. A second step may involve bringing commercial banks onboard, via the likes of blended finance, as means to foster trust with private investors in this sector and build supply of sustainable finance in Chile. The second line is the formation of Smart Financial Instruments SFI.