Academic of the Department of Electrical Engineering exhibits at the international congress on green hydrogen

The Hyvolution event brings together different players and industries worldwide seeking to promote the use of sustainable energy sources.

USM Communications.- The academic from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Federico Santa María Technical University, Dr. Patricio Valdivia, was present at the first version of Hyvolution held in Chile, the most important congress and exhibition in the world related to green hydrogen and which brings together different sectors industries in the world related to energy, sustainability and mobility.

This event held in France had its version in Chile due to the natural and climatic advantages that the national territory has to produce green hydrogen (H2), which is obtained through electrolysis from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy. , leaving behind the old method that used fossil fuels.

Francisco Sotomayor, one of the organizers of Hyvolution, highlighted the potential of Chilean soil for the development of a sustainable industry with green hydrogen, establishing that “Chile is one of the countries with the best chances of accelerating the long-awaited carbon neutrality by 2040, while in global agreements at the United Nations COP summits, they mention 2050 as the horizon”.

Following the guidelines of sustainability and innovation promoted by the USM, Dr. Patricio Valdivia, was presenting in Hyvolution the project of the first electric van powered by green hydrogen developed in Chile, which is led by the house of studies as manager technological.

The academic comments that this van presents an innovation compared to other vehicles that use green hydrogen as an energy source, since this prototype “not only uses fuel cells as a power source, but can use batteries, supercapacitors”.

This project is in the TLR level 5 development stage, that is, a prototype that can be similar or coincide with the final product, in addition to being applied and validated in a real environment. Valdivia commented that one of the reasons was to disseminate the initiative in important instances such as Hyvolution, showing that “the University is developing technologies and ideas, seeking to transfer them to the industries.”

Currently the house of studies is developing different projects related to green hydrogen that have to do with the production, storage and use of this energy vector with great potential value for different industries.