It Isn’t Easy Being Green: Assessing Accelerators and Bottlenecks to Green Hydrogen Development in the Context of Chile’s National Green Hydrogen Strategy

Abstract

With concerns over climate change mounting, governments around the world are working to mitigate the human and ecological impacts associated with climate disasters. The Paris Climate Accord, ratified in 2015, represents a collective global effort towards this aim and provides a framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Approaches to emissions reductions according to the climate accord are multifaceted and varied. Green hydrogen, a carbon-neutral energy vector made from water and renewable electricity, is one potential decarbonization method being explored. While several countries have devoted funds and resources to research and development of the energy vector, this thesis focuses on green hydrogen in Chile, a country ripe with development potential given its rich renewable energy landscape. This thesis assesses the feasibility of achieving the development goals in Chile’s National Green Hydrogen Strategy. Through interviews and literature reviews, this thesis determines whether the national strategy successfully capitalizes on Chile’s unique advantages while minimizing the country’s bottlenecks to green hydrogen development. Informed by a holistic analysis of social, cultural, political, and economic factors in Chile as well as globally, this thesis concludes that Chile’s National Green Hydrogen Strategy will not be enough to support Chile’s green hydrogen ambitions. As such, more policy measures in support of green hydrogen development will be necessary. This thesis addresses unmet needs in Chile with a policy discussion on existing green hydrogen policies in the United States, the European Union, and Australia, considering their potential for success if adopted in Chile. The work concludes by suggesting that a combination of incentivizing and regulatory policies, as well as attention to the unique social, cultural, and political makeup in Chile, is necessary to reach the country’s desired levels of green hydrogen development.