The mining company Anglo American has launched a pilot plant for the production of green hydrogen using solar energy, which supplies a forklift truck at the Las Tórtolas concentrator north of Santiago. Anglo American's pilot plant is the fourth pilot project focused on green hydrogen in Chile, responding to growing global interest in producing this type of fuel, obtained by electrolysis of water using renewable energy. This initiative joins the synthetic fuels project being built in the Magallanes region, involving energy company AME and state-owned Enap, as well as other partners; the Engie and Enaex project for the production of green ammonia for the manufacture of explosives for mining; and a US$30 million project announced by GNL Quintero together with Enagas and Acciona Energía.

The potential of green hydrogen, however, still faces several challenges. In addition to designing a market for this technology and adapting industry regulations and governance, the most important challenge is to significantly reduce its production costs. In 2018, producing one kilogram of green hydrogen cost between US$5 and US$6 per kilogram, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The magic number used in the industry to make it profitable is US$2/kg of hydrogen. This is where Chile has an advantage, with very competitive solar photovoltaic generation costs and great wind potential in the south of the country.