Dear PtX enthusiasts,

The paradigm has changed: project developers no longer see community involvement as a burden to be avoided, but as an insurance for their investment. Project owners need reassurance that they will be able to operate their facilities for decades to come and generate the expected revenues. Better relations with the local population increase the likelihood that operations will run smoothly.

The Magallanes region in Chile is a shining example of such inclusive development: working with the International PtX Hub, Osvaldo Urzua, head of a multidisciplinary group of Chilean experts, is analysing how tourism, biodiversity conservation, hydrogen and many other demands on the land can co-exist in balance. The aim is to maximise benefits for the local population and economy, and to put Magallanes businesses in the driving seat to ensure that developments are in tune with the pulse of the region. For example, Magallanes has opened an e-fuels laboratory with HIF Global to build knowledge and, in the medium term, move the region's entirely fossil fuel-based electricity mix to 100% renewable energy.

This kind of coexistence is a real win-win situation. These measures will put the hydrogen producer and the local population on a path of growth and development. With all the talk about hydrogen, it is easy to forget that this element is only one ingredient. The real interest is in greening our industrial production, defossilising it and making it resilient to both climate change and geopolitical upheaval. Hydrogen can be an enabler for this.

In this edition of the RE:PtX newsletter, we share the most exciting recent developments of the International PtX Hub contributing to just this transition and paradigm change.

Carolin Capone, Torsten Schwab and Frank Mischler

            Directors of the International PtX Hub

Read the full opinion piece for Friends of Europe here.

Country focus: Uruguay

"I believe it is really important to work first on those topics that can cause higher reluctance and concerns within the population."

From community involvement to environmental impact assessments and water management – María José González, Head of the Green Hydrogen Program at the Uruguayan Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining spoke with our colleague Sonia Rueda Silva about important aspects of a sustainable PtX economy in Uruguay and worldwide:

Another key issue for the development of PtX in Uruguay is certification. Last Wednesday, at the ninth IX Congreso LATAM Renovables in Uruguay, PtX Hub Director Frank Mischler shared the stage with María José González to discuss certification for green hydrogen and PtX. 

"Certification has to be part of the design of PtX projects from the start. You have to know your consumers and markets and their requirements," he explained at the congress. This dialogue in Uruguay is part of the efforts by Latin American countries to advance hydrogen certification, which the PtX Hub is currently supporting in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.