Mobile green hydrogen plant for research

Antofagasta, Chile

Chile’s first mobile green hydrogen plant came about as a research project led by the Scientific and Technological Centre of the Regional Government of Antofagasta (CICITEM) and built by the companies Vespek and TRA Busso Group. It aims to quantify the potential for green hydrogen generation from photovoltaic energy in the Antofagasta Region and also identify other areas of high hydrogen generation efficiency in the national territory.

It has a capacity of 20 kW, consisting of eight 2.5 kW AEM Electrolysers. The electricity for the production comes from a mobile photovoltaic plant of 33 kW peak deployment.  It has already completed the first research, having first generated green H2 in the town of Mejillones. Among the advantages offered by this mobile plant is the possibility of studying the operation of the equipment in real-world conditions and in different locations where the potential and competitive advantage for H2 generation can be quantified. In regions with high radiation, the cost of H2 production is expected to be competitive with current fossil fuels, which would imply a breakthrough in the country’s decarbonisation goals.