His visit, which began at the beginning of the week in Spain and will end next Monday in the United Kingdom after visiting France Y Germanyseeks to talk with companies already present in Chile or that are considering investing.
After a period of changes marked by the arrival of the leftist Gabriel Boric to power and the rejection of the project of Constitutionthe minister says that he did not find “concern” in his interlocutors, but rather “interest in understanding”.
His visit comes as Europe seeks to stop depending on the Russian oil and gasthe rise in whose prices by the war in ukraine and European sanctions prompted the inflationwhile looking for sustainable alternatives.
Green hydrogen is one of them. Germany last week signed an agreement with Canada for a transatlantic supply and France announced on Wednesday a first list of projects with the aim of being a leader in the sector by 2030.
Chile’s journey in green hydrogen
In 2020, the then conservative executive Sebastian Pinera approved a plan to promote this energy, “a vision that transcends governments” and that President Gabriel Boric maintains since he considers it relevant for investments, according to Grau.
The so-called “green” hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis -separation of water molecules thanks to a current– using renewable electricity, whether wind, solar or hydroelectric.
“Chile has a very favorable condition for the photovoltaic energy in the north and wind power In the south. This means that there are predictions regarding the possibility that Chile will have the cheapest green hydrogen by 2030,” explained the Minister of Economy.
For the minister, that experience and that geography, along with the design of public policies for this industry -such as “the development of local suppliers” or “expedite” permits-, “they are a good attraction for investors” in this area.
Green hydrogen or global services will be one of the aspects of the investment forum in Chile that InvestChilethe foreign investment promotion agency, organizes in Santiago from October 5 to 7 and that Grau promotes on his tour.
The tax context
In an inflationary context and economic slowdownthe Boric government presented a tax reform that seeks to collect 4.1% of GDP and that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) considered “ambitious” but “feasible”.
The minister thus defends this “well-balanced reform” that seeks to finance the leftist president’s program as the expansion and improvement of the health system and the increase in a universal basic pensionamong others.
One of its pillars is the introduction of royalties to large copper miningalready criticized by the industry, but that the person in charge of Economy considers “reasonable”, since Chile is “a little below” compared to other countries.
Source: Ambito
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