- The president and founder of MAE participated in the event "Unlocking Green Hydrogen Development in South America," organized in Washington DC by the Wilson Center and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where he highlighted the potential and competitive advantages that exist in the country, especially in the North, and the challenges facing the sector.
July 15th, 2024— The potential and challenges that Chile faces to become a leading player in the production of green hydrogen and ammonia were among the main topics addressed today at the event "Unlocking Green Hydrogen Development in South America," organized in Washington DC, United States, by the Wilson Center and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Various speakers attended the event, including José Miguel Benavente, executive vice president of Corfo; Rafael Matas Trillo, head of the Andean Region and leader of the Energy sector of IDB Invest; and James Calaway, president and founder of MAE, a company that is currently developing the Volta project in the city of Mejillones, Antofagasta Region.
In his speech, Calaway praised Chile's competitive conditions, particularly Mejillones, "one of the best places in the world to develop the green hydrogen and ammonia industry." The businessman indicated that the Volta project seeks to transform Mejillones into a development hub due to its unique capabilities for solar energy generation, since it is located in the area with the highest solar irradiance on the planet, even higher than that of the Sahara Desert.
"We have been working very hard on this project, moving very closely with the community, and concerned about listening (...) We are the most advanced green ammonia project in Atacama, and I am proud of that, especially for the contribution of our team, which is composed entirely of very talented Chilean professionals. There is great potential and skills in this country," he said.
However, Calaway says that to make the most of Chile's competitive advantages, the industry's challenge is to increase plant factors, that is, the number of hours a plant must be operating. "In the short term, we need to connect to the grid while advances in energy storage are being consolidated. And it is in this temporary context that we need to reduce the high systemic costs so that they do not become a barrier," he said. This area is one in which Calaway sees a possible area of transitional government support for the industry as a kind of bridge until storage is consolidated as a real and economically viable alternative. In this line, he explained that currently, one of the problems is that Chile is one of the cheapest places to provide energy during the day but not so at night.
The president of MAE stressed that having storage technologies as part of the industry's energy solution would be a fundamental milestone for the country in its race to position itself as a global leader. "The scenario will be very different if Chile manages to advance in measures to reduce systemic charges and ensure energy storage," Calaway said, stating that "it is the opportunity to transform the country into a leading competitor in the industry at a global level."
About MAE
MAE is developing the Volta project in the Antofagasta region, one of the green hydrogen and ammonia initiatives that has the greatest state of progress in northern Chile. It is currently under environmental evaluation and is key to positioning Mejillones as a productive hub of this industry in the country and Latin America. The company contemplates the construction of a green hydrogen plant as an intermediate input to produce green ammonia, which, at total capacity, will contribute to the reduction of more than 1 million tons/year of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the pollution of more than 200,000 vehicles in the same period.
About Wilson Center
Wilson Center is a nonpartisan think tank funded by the U.S. Congress. It generates dialogue and offers advice, research, and knowledge on vast matters of global interest to decision-makers, policymakers, and academics. In 2019, the Wilson Center was named the world's No. 1 regional studies think tank.
