The generator is being tested at the Carén reservoir expansion works carried out by ACCIONA for Codelco’s El Teniente Division

ACCIONA has begun operating the first zero emission hydrogen fuel cell based generator in Chile, approved by the Superintendent of Electricity and Fuels (SEC).

This pioneering initiative is part of a pilot project the company has implemented to replace diesel generators with zero emission energy alternatives at the Carén reservoir expansion works carried out for Codelco’s El Teniente Division.

The unit, developed and manufactured by the French company EODev and distributed in Chile by KH2, is the first of its kind used in the country for off grid power supply with hydrogen based equipment.

Implementing this technology will reduce fossil fuel consumption by 5,067 liters per quarter, preventing approximately 13.6 tons of CO₂ from being emitted into the atmosphere over that period.

In doing so, ACCIONA becomes the first company to incorporate this type of zero emission technology into the national construction industry, advancing its goal of reducing the environmental impact of its projects and decarbonizing its works.

GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

Reducing emissions in construction power supply is becoming increasingly relevant, and the adoption of new technologies and solutions that support the decarbonization of construction sites is therefore a global priority for the company.

ACCIONA has extensive experience in deploying zero emission hydrogen fuel cell generator systems. In a pilot project implemented during the construction of the Norte III Penitentiary Complex in San Sebastián, the company successfully operated a tower crane using a zero emission portable hydrogen generator. In the construction of the Nuevo Acceso a Alcalá del Valle road in Cádiz, it used a hydrogen fuel cell generator fueled by locally reformed green methanol.

Then, in 2024, ACCIONA acquired a zero emission GEH₂® hydrogen fuel cell generator after testing it at the Centenario Bridge expansion works in Seville, making it the first Spanish construction company to incorporate this type of zero emission technology on a worksite.