Challenges of the electromobility and electric energy storage law in Chile

This is an automated translation of the original release, published in Spanish

PRESS RELEASE from Black & Veatch
January 2023

Our country continues to advance rapidly towards the construction of a 100% decarbonised electricity matrix by 2040, as well as the mass use of electric vehicles in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the future.

One of the latest advances in terms of energy decarbonization is the recent approval of the Energy Storage Law, which promotes a greater participation of renewable energies in the national electricity matrix with a focus on storage given that, currently, part of what is generated by wind and photovoltaic energy, among others, is discarded due to congestion on transmission lines.

In detail, this regulation enables pure storage systems (not associated with power plants) to receive inputs from energy and power in the generation market of the National Electric System, in addition to the development of storage projects for various technologies (batteries, compressed air, among others) and maximize the integration of variable renewable energies (such as solar and wind).

In relation to this point, Ángela Castillo, Business Development Director - Energy & Process Industries for Black & Veatch Latin America, says that “unfortunately there are few commercially feasible, economically viable and technically scalable long-term energy storage technologies on the market today; but there is good news and in which Chile we have an advantage, and that is that the use of hydrogen has responded satisfactorily to the energy storage process and represents, up to now, the best alternative to solve this great challenge, and as a country we have great potential in this area.”

On the other hand, in terms of electromobility, the most recent law approved seeks to lead Chile towards the levels of sale of electric vehicles existing internationally, but "the challenge for the private sector is no less when one thinks, among other variants, of the number of charging points that must be implemented to carry out this national plan, since the qualified offer to carry out from the design of the infrastructure of the charging stations to the construction is really low,” highlights the executive.

"However, when analyzing this panorama from an external perspective, everything seems to indicate that as a country we have all the cards on the table to become a regional benchmark in terms of sustainability in the coming years, but to achieve this it will be necessary for the industry to leverage on strategic partners that provide added value to the development of these projects and are at the forefront of the use of these new technologies - such as Black & Veatch - since they stand out for having qualified and experienced know-how in the matter, which contributes to maximize and really take advantage of the resources available through the establishment of Roadmaps, thus avoiding delays and millions of losses in unnecessary investments”, he adds.

Finally, Castillo comments that "the market is advancing and is on the right track, and as a point in favor, Chile has natural capacities and highly qualified suppliers to carry out these two large national projects satisfactorily if they are developed under the standards global already proven.”