HIF Global Renews e-Fuels Certification for Magallanes Plant in Chile

Chile

Key Facts

—Certification. HIF Global renewed the ISCC EU RFNBO certification for its Haru Oni plant, confirming compliance with EU renewable fuel standards.

—Location. The facility operates near Punta Arenas in Chile’s Magallanes region, harnessing wind capacity factors of up to 70%.

—Commercial Scale. HIF is advancing a USD 830 million (CLP 760 billion) commercial plant at Cabo Negro, backed by a USD 500 million wind farm.

—Investors. Backers include Porsche, Idemitsu Kosan, EIG, and Baker Hughes, with over USD 164 million raised for global project development.

—Exports. Haru Oni has shipped over 100,000 litres of synthetic gasoline to Europe and the United States since late 2022.

HIF Global has renewed its crucial e-fuels certification for Magallanes, locking in the Haru Oni plant’s ability to supply EU-compliant synthetic fuels and signalling that Chile’s remote southern frontier is now a bankable node in the global green hydrogen trade.

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What the Certification Renewal Actually Means

HIF Global confirmed that its Haru Oni demonstration facility has successfully renewed its ISCC EU RFNBO certification, the gold-standard label required to sell Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin into the European Union. The certification verifies that the plant produces synthetic gasoline and e-methanol using 100 per cent renewable power while achieving at least a 70 per cent lifecycle greenhouse-gas reduction compared to fossil fuels.

Haru Oni also maintains its ISCC PLUS certification, a voluntary global scheme audited by TÜV SÜD Industrie Service in Germany, which opens doors to non-EU markets including the United Kingdom and Japan. Without these certifications, the fuel holds no green value and cannot command the premium prices that make the entire business model viable.

The renewal matters because it transforms a one-off pilot achievement into an ongoing commercial proposition. For offtakers like Porsche and Shell, it provides the regulatory certainty needed to sign longer-term purchase agreements and blend the fuel into their decarbonisation strategies.

Haru Oni: The World’s First Operating e-Fuels Plant

Located near Punta Arenas in Chile’s windswept Magallanes region, Haru Oni is widely recognised as the first operating e-fuels facility on the planet. It produced its first litres of synthetic gasoline in late 2022, with the inaugural batch ceremonially used in a Porsche 911, underscoring the German automaker’s role as both equity partner and anchor offtaker.

The plant runs on a Power-to-X model, combining green hydrogen from electrolysers with captured carbon dioxide to synthesise liquid fuels that are chemically identical to their fossil counterparts. By November 2024, Haru Oni had completed four commercial shipments and exported over 100,000 litres of e-fuels to Europe and the United States.

A dedicated laboratory operated jointly by HIF, the University of Magallanes, and Empresas Gasco has conducted more than 50,000 fuel analyses since mid-2022. In December 2025, HIF also installed the first Direct Air Capture unit in Chile at the Punta Arenas site, strengthening the plant’s carbon accounting and alignment with tightening EU rules on CO₂ sourcing.

Why Magallanes Wind Economics Rewrite the Rulebook

The Magallanes region offers wind capacity factors of up to 70 per cent, a figure that approaches baseload reliability and is almost unheard of in most renewable energy markets. An OECD case study on HIF Global notes that green electricity costs in the zone fall below USD 20 per megawatt-hour, a critical threshold for producing competitive green hydrogen and its derivatives.

These economics are the foundation upon which HIF is building its global portfolio. Cheap, steady wind power solves the biggest cost variable in e-fuels production and gives Chile a structural advantage over competitors in Europe, North America, and Asia that face higher power prices and lower capacity factors.

For outside investors, the numbers change the risk calculus. A project-finance model built on dollar-denominated power purchase agreements and export revenues becomes far more bankable when the underlying energy input is both cheap and predictable.

From Demonstration to Commercial Scale: Cabo Negro and Faro del Sur

HIF is now moving decisively beyond the demonstration phase with its Cabo Negro synthetic fuels plant, a USD 830 million project that received unanimous environmental approval from Magallanes’ Comisión de Evaluación Ambiental in 2025. The facility will occupy roughly 58 hectares in the Cabo Negro industrial zone and is expected to create about 900 construction jobs and 400 permanent operational positions.

Powering Cabo Negro is the Faro del Sur wind farm, a joint venture between HIF and Enel Green Power Chile. The USD 500 million project will deploy 65 turbines generating 325 megawatts of capacity, feeding 240 megawatts of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen at commercial volumes.

The Haru Oni certification renewal is not merely a bureaucratic milestone; it is the regulatory template for these larger projects. By proving that a Chilean facility can meet EU RFNBO standards repeatedly, HIF de-risks the permitting and offtake negotiations for Cabo Negro and its pipeline of plants in Texas, Uruguay, and Tasmania.

The Money Behind the Molecules

HIF Global has assembled a formidable investor base that blends industrial offtakers, private equity, and strategic Asian capital. In April 2022, the company completed a USD 260 million capital increase representing roughly 25 per cent of its shares, drawing in Porsche, US-based energy investor EIG, and energy technology firm Baker Hughes.

The most telling vote of confidence came in May 2024, when Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan invested USD 114 million as part of a broader USD 164 million fundraising round. The deal includes long-term e-fuels purchase agreements and a commitment to develop CO₂ supply chains and the Japanese market, aligning with Tokyo’s Green Growth Strategy for 2050 carbon neutrality.

The Haru Oni demonstration plant itself was built with over USD 60 million, including a USD 10 million grant from the German federal government and USD 50 million in equity. The OECD case study identifies offtake risk as the central financial challenge for e-fuels projects, making the certification renewal a direct hedge against the single biggest threat to investor returns.

Geopolitics and the Race for Green Fuel Supply Chains

Haru Oni’s certification renewal lands at a moment when the European Union is tightening transport decarbonisation quotas under its RED III directive and explicitly opening pathways for imported renewable fuels. A certified plant in Chile demonstrates that non-European producers can meet Brussels’ rules, creating multi-billion-dollar export opportunities that diversify EU energy dependencies away from traditional suppliers.

For Latin America, the implications are profound. Magallanes is emerging as a renewable energy frontier that could grant Chile strategic importance akin to that of conventional hydrocarbon exporters, but built on wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture rather than oil and gas.

HIF has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Chile’s state-owned oil company ENAP to explore domestic e-fuels use, ensuring that some of the economic and energy-security benefits remain within the country. This dual export-domestic strategy broadens political support and hedges against shifts in international regulatory regimes.

What Investors and Exporters Should Watch Next

The immediate priority is the financial close and construction timeline for the Cabo Negro plant and the Faro del Sur wind farm. With environmental permits secured, the focus shifts to finalising debt financing, engineering contracts, and long-term offtake agreements that will underpin the project’s bankability.

Regulatory developments in Brussels, Tokyo, and Washington will determine the pace of demand growth. Any acceleration of sustainable aviation fuel mandates or maritime decarbonisation rules would directly benefit HIF’s project pipeline, given that e-methanol and synthetic kerosene are among the few scalable options for hard-to-electrify sectors.

Finally, watch for further strategic investments from Asian and European industrial players seeking to lock in supply chains. Idemitsu’s entry may be a template for other refiners and trading houses that need certified green molecules to meet regulatory obligations and customer expectations in their home markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ISCC EU RFNBO certification and why does it matter?

ISCC EU RFNBO certification confirms that a fuel qualifies as a Renewable Fuel of Non-Biological Origin under the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive. It requires 100 per cent renewable energy input and at least a 70 per cent lifecycle greenhouse-gas reduction versus fossil fuels. Without this label, synthetic fuels cannot be counted toward EU transport decarbonisation quotas and lose access to premium pricing in European markets.

How much e-fuel has Haru Oni actually exported?

By November 2024, the Haru Oni facility had completed four commercial shipments and exported over 100,000 litres of synthetic gasoline to customers in Europe and the United States. The primary offtaker has been Porsche, which used the inaugural batch in a Porsche 911 demonstration and continues to purchase production volumes. Distribution partner Mabanaft handles sales into additional markets including Japan and Canada.

What makes Chile’s Magallanes region so attractive for e-fuels production?

Magallanes offers wind capacity factors of up to 70 per cent, which approaches baseload reliability, combined with green electricity costs below USD 20 per megawatt-hour. These unusually strong conditions dramatically reduce the cost of producing green hydrogen, the most expensive input in synthetic fuel manufacturing. The region’s existing industrial infrastructure around Punta Arenas and its access to shipping routes for export further strengthen its competitive position.