In March 2023, the largest green hydrogen-based synthetic gasoline facility in Latin America will begin commercial production in Chilean Patagonia, with future ambitions to export this clean fuel produced in Chile.
This is the Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF) Haru Oni pilot project, which started construction in 2021, for the manufacture of synthetic fuel based on hydrogen.
A first step toward replacing fossil fuels was the completion of the production of the first liters of synthetic gasoline based on green hydrogen toward the end of 2022.
According to Clara Bowman, general manager of HIF Global, an international cooperative program for developing alternative fuels, “it’s a tidal change for the transportation business.”
According to Bowman, this ground-breaking substance may replace conventional gasoline that is made from oil, coal, or natural gas without requiring modifications to the engines of currently operating vehicles or changing logistics for storage and distribution.
“It is gasoline with a 93 octane rating. It is impurity-free but chemically comparable to regular benzine. Since it cuts particulate matter emissions by 90%, its added value is to help with decarbonization “Added he.
The company claims that Haru Oni is a smaller demonstration plant that can make 130,000 liters of eco-friendly gasoline and 350 tons of crude methanol annually using wind energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) that is captured from the atmosphere.
Approximately one million cars may be produced at this rate each year, aiding in the energy transition.
Bowman hopes that Haru Oni can transform that region into a “hub” (center) of innovation and serve as a model for other projects of a similar nature. “Being a demonstration plant, unique in its kind in the world, will allow us to learn from a production process that had only occurred at the laboratory level,” Bowman said.
The goal of the project’s sponsor, Siemens Energy, is to raise the production of ecologically friendly fuel to 55 million liters annually in 2024 and to more than 550 million in 2026.
About 3,000 kilometers south of Santiago, in Chile’s Magallanes region, in the city of Punta Arenas, the project is based.
Haru Oni also has a lot of potential for energy development, which could help in the effort to stop global warming.
The vast and sparsely inhabited territory in the far south of the South American nation, home to approximately 170,000 people, is in a perfect location to put wind turbines and exploit winds of up to 100 kph to produce a sustainable and profitable good that can be used both locally and abroad.
The Tehuel Aike property’s 3.7 hectares are the site of the 74 million dollar Haru Oni project, which has a structure that is 148.5 meters high and is expected to last for 25 years.
It has a 3.4 megawatt (MW) wind turbine for the generation of “eCombustibles” or carbon-neutral fuels, as well as a 13-kilowatt backup transmission line, which supplies energy for electrolysis or the separation of the elements (kW).
In order to achieve carbon neutrality for the nation in 30 years and save a total of $15,200 million, Chile aims to lead the world in green hydrogen generation by 2050. This gas would account for between 17 and 27 percent of the reductions required.
According to research by Chile’s Ministry of Energy, the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic region may create 13% of the world’s green hydrogen, and annual electricity-wind generation might exceed seven times the national average.
These figures have attracted foreign investors, and as a result, green hydrogen projects have expanded. This portends the emergence of new businesses and services to meet the rising need in Magallanes.
This drive would result in rapid economic growth for the locals in their unforgiving terrain, particularly in the areas of hydrocarbons, cattle, fishing, and tourism.
