Following VINCI Airports and Groupe ADP’s environmental plans, Nuevo Pudahuel has made the first step to assure Santiago Airport, Arturo Merino Benítez, becomes the first in Latin America to incorporate the use of hydrogen. Along with a group of leading energy companies (Air Liquide, Copec and Colbún), the airport concessionaire signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work on a plan to incorporate this carbon-free fuel into the operations of Chile’s main airport.
Nueva Pudahuel will carry out a series of pre-feasibility studies to evaluate the development of a hydrogen ecosystem, including the fuel production and supply infrastructure for the airport’s vehicle fleet, as well as for aircraft in the future. This initiative will specifically contribute to the goal of the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
“Today we take a step towards a sustainable aeronautical future. And we do it with a public and private alliance to implement the construction project of the first green hydrogen plant in an airport in Latin America: the Santiago airport,” said Nuevo Pudahuel thought its social media. “We will build a green hydrogen plant at the Santiago airport to supply energy to vehicles and aircraft on the platform, with a more eco-friendly fuel.”
Air Liquide will lead the development of the study, in close coordination with Nuevo Pudahuel. In addition, the company will use its hydrogen production and distribution expertise to build and operate an electrolyzer for green hydrogen production and the associated hydrogen supply chain. Colbún, leader in the generation sector in Chile, brings its experience in renewable energies to the project. Copec, the main operator of service stations in Chile, will contribute with its experience in fuel storage and supply systems, in addition to the projection to estimate the demand for hydrogen that this initiative will have.
“As a concessionaire, we have a commitment to the State of Chile. We recently delivered a new terminal. We are promoting its use with new routes and new airlines, but we need to do it making sure we grow while acting for the care of the environment. We do it by using this clean energy, in the development of which our key shareholders have been pioneers. Green hydrogen will allow us to support the growth of air transport in harmony with the environment,” said Xavier Lortat-Jacob, General Manager of Nuevo Pudahuel.
The agreement was signed by the highest representatives of Nuevo Pudahuel, Air Liquide, Colbún and Copec. The ceremony included the Ministers of Public Works, Juan Carlos García; Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz; and Science and Technology, Flavio Salazar; and the Vice minister of Energy, Julio Maturana; and the Ambassador of France in Chile, Pascal Teixeira da Silva.
