(Berlin / Munich) – The Federal Ministry of Economics is funding Siemens AG’s “Haru Oni” project with 8,23 million euros. In this project, the group wants to produce green hydrogen in Chile.
It is the first PtX project to be funded by the economic stimulus package as part of the National Hydrogen Strategy (NWS). For the funding program approved in June, funds totaling nine billion euros are available for the implementation of the NWS, two billion of which are for international projects in selected partner countries.
Methanol from green hydrogen
Siemens Energy is developing the “Haru Oni” hydrogen project in the Magallanes province in southern Chile. To produce green hydrogen, electrolyzers use wind power to split water into its components, oxygen and hydrogen. In a second step, it is planned to filter CO2 from the air in order to then combine it with the green hydrogen to produce synthetic methanol (eMethanol). The result is a methanol produced from renewable sources that is converted into fuel by Exxon Mobil. The MTG technology (methanol-to-gasoline) developed by Exxon Mobil will be used for this purpose.
In the pilot phase, the large-scale plant will produce around 2022 liters of eMethanol from 750.000, which will in turn produce around 130.000 liters of synthetic fuel (eFuels). In two steps, the capacity should then increase to around 2024 million liters of eFuels by 55 and to around 2026 million liters of eFuels per year by 550. Porsche AG is the main buyer of the green fuel. According to the information, this is the world's first integrated commercial plant for the production of climate-neutral fuel.
Chile has high potential for H2 export
Due to the good local wind power and the associated low electricity prices, “Chile has a very high potential for the production, export and local use of green hydrogen compared to international standards,” says a statement from Porsche AG.
In an initial phase, Porsche is planning to use eFuels from Chile in “lighthouse projects”. This includes use in Porsche Motorsport vehicles and, in the future, also in production sports cars. The car manufacturer is initially investing around 20 million euros for this.
Siemens Energy is co-developer of the project and, as a system integrator, covers the entire value chain - from electricity generation with Siemens Gamesa wind turbines to the production of green hydrogen and conversion into synthetic fuel. The company’s flexible PEM electrolysis (Proton Exchange Membrane) is “ideal for using volatile wind energy”.
The energy company AME is the main developer and owner of the project company HIF (Highly Innovative Fuels). The Italian utility Enel is co-financing the plant with a focus on wind energy and electrolysis. The Chilean oil company ENAP supports the project with operating personnel as well as maintenance and logistics.
deep link
https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2020/12/20201202-ptx-projekt-haru-oni-altmaier-uebergibt-ersten-foerderbescheid-fuer-internationales-projekt-fuer-gruenen-wasserstoff.html
https://newsroom.porsche.com/de/2020/unternehmen/porsche-siemens-energy-pilotprojekt-chile-forschung-entwicklung-synthetische-kraftstoffe-efuels-23020.html
https://www.siemens-energy.com/global/en/offerings/renewable-energy/hydrogen-solutions/haru-oni.html
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Porsche becomes the main buyer of the synthetic fuel produced by Siemens in Chile / © Porsche AG
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Concept of the Haru Oni location in Chile / © Siemens AG
