Both the Chilean Ministry of Energy and Mining and Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport announced their plans to evaluate initiatives and projects that would promote the use of green hydrogen in aircraft operating in the country’s capital. It becomes the first airport to use this technology in Latin America.
Green hydrogen is one of the keys to decarbonizing the industry in the future since it has an energy content up to three times higher than conventional fossil fuels and releases energy without emitting polluting gases into the environment.
It is produced from water and natural sources, such as plants, through a process called electrolysis, whereby an electric current is used to split the water molecule and separate the two oxygen atoms from the hydrogen atom. If the generated electricity is obtained from a renewable method -such as wind or hydroelectric power- the result is a fuel that does not emit emissions either in its production or consumption is achieved.
The Chilean Ministry of Energy and Mining issued a press release stating that «Chile’s National Green Hydrogen Strategy envisions that the maritime and air transport sectors can be decarbonized through hydrogen-derived fuels, both on local and international routes (…) today we are announcing that the country’s main airport will be the first to be enabled to supply aircraft with green hydrogen».
Arturo Merino Benitez airport management in Santiago de Chile was assigned in 2015 to Nuevo Pudahuel, a group formed by Groupe ADP (45%), VINCI Airports (40%) and Astaldi Concessioni (15%). And VINCI Airports is indeed one of the companies in the sector at a global level that is strongly promoting investment in green hydrogen.
As we reported in the article Decarbonization of the sector: Airbus, Air Liquide, and VINCI Airports partner to promote the use of hydrogen, the company is planning to build a network of European airports adapted to aircraft using this material for their operations.
Xavier Lortat-Jacob, General Manager of Nuevo Pudahuel, and Juan Carlos Jobet, Chilean Minister of Energy and Mining
Juan Carlos Jobet, Minister of Energy and Mining, together with Xavier Lortat-Jacob, General Manager of Nuevo Pudahuel, have announced their plan for Santiago airport to be able to receive and supply aircraft powered by green hydrogen from 2030 onwards, consistent with the policy being developed by VINCI Airports in Europe. Beyond any doubt, this is great news for the region.
The Chilean government and Santiago airport will coordinate joint actions to move towards the decarbonization of the activity in the country. In that regard, Jobet said that «with this announcement, airlines operating in Chile will be able to use green hydrogen (…) This is a new milestone that is added to the largest project in Latin America, which proposes the production of the first molecule for use in mining and the injection of hydrogen in domestic gas networks».
VINCI Airports is also working on a plan to equip the entire Vinci airport network (77) with facilities for the production, storage, and supply of this sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use on the ground and in aircraft, according to ALN News.
