Chile’s ammonium nitrate and explosives producer Enaex SA, Santiago, has presented to Chilean regulators an environmental impact statement (EIS) for its “HyEx-Ammonia Synthesis” project that would produce 18,000 mt/y of ammonia, which would be used for ammonium nitrate production, according to a Bloomberg report. It would be the first green ammonia plant in Chile that uses green hydrogen and renewable energy.
The plant would be about 24 kilometers away from Tocopilla, in the Antofagasta Region. The ammonia would be shipped to the company’s Prillex plant in Mejillones, and would reduce ammonia imports.
Hydrogen for the ammonia plant would be piped from Engie Chile, which has submitted its own EIS to regulators for a new plant – HyE-Green Hydrogen Production. Green hydrogen production (26MW) would be based on a water electrolysis system powered by renewable energy. Engie already has a thermoelectric power plant near Tocopilla, and it is currently developing a solar project.
Both the Enaex and Engie projects are pilot projects and are expected to be commissioned in June 2025. Costs for each plant were reported as US$49 million and $47 million, respectively, according to Renewables Today.
In the long term, and once the pilot plants are up and running, both companies are looking at large-scale projects for the region, with 2,000 MW of electrolysis from Engie, from which Enaex would increase its production of green ammonia to 700,000 mt/y, with an estimated date of 2030.
In the meantime, Engie is advancing a Hydra pilot to promote the use of hydrogen fuel for mining vehicles, as well as its use in cranes for a Walmart Distribution Center in Quilicura.