Chile Approves the Largest Green Ammonia Project in Its History at US$11 Billion
Magallanes' Environmental Assessment Commission greenlit the HNH Energy complex, which will produce and export green ammonia from the second half of 2030.
The Magallanes Environmental Assessment Commission (COEVA) unanimously approved the HNH Energy green hydrogen and ammonia project on August 27, 2026, with an investment of US$11 billion, the largest ever approved in the history of Chile's Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA), according to Bloomberg Línea.
The vote concluded the environmental assessment process after Chile's Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) issued its Consolidated Report with a favorable recommendation, as reported by pv magazine Latam. The figure nearly doubles the previous system record, set by Codelco's RT Sulfuros project, approved in 2016 at US$5.4 billion. The project cements Chile's position as a capital magnet for green hydrogen and ammonia in Latin America, targeting export markets. The approval comes in a high-activity year for Chile's environmental review system, which authorized 213 projects worth US$39.6 billion between January and August 26, 2026, according to Bloomberg Línea.
The project, registered with the SEA under the name ASOE Chile Diez, integrates a 194-turbine wind farm with 1,400 MW of capacity, a 3,000 MW electrolysis plant comprising 150 alkaline electrolyzers of 20 MW each, and a 1,000 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), split into an initial 300 MWh phase and a subsequent 700 MWh expansion, according to pv magazine Latam.
The complex is designed for maximum annual production of 467,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 1.3 million tonnes of green ammonia, with three port storage tanks of 60,000 tonnes each for export, according to Ministry of Energy data compiled by the SEA. HNH Energy projects 2,446 jobs during construction and 1,472 in ongoing operations, and estimates breaking ground in 2027 with ammonia production beginning in the second half of 2030, according to Bloomberg Línea.
Following approval, HNH Energy has identified its next steps as securing sector-specific permits, structuring project financing, and defining investment terms. The development, which entered the SEIA process in July 2024 and underwent 756 days of review, will depend on how international markets for ammonia and renewable fuels evolve, according to the company.
This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
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This article was drafted with AI assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.