Chile is embarking on a European hunt for investors in solar, wind and green hydrogen technologies as it looks to decarbonise copper mines and other industries reliant on fossil fuels.

Marcos Kulka, CEO of H2Chile, a hydrogen association of 102 public and private companies, travelled to Europe to outline his government’s energy strategy amid renegotiations of an EU-Chile trade and investment deal.

Kulka told AFP that, “given the resources it has”, Chile can become carbon neutral by 2040 — 10 years earlier than the global net-zero target set in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Hyvolution energy trade show in Paris this month, Kulka said 24 percent of the reduction in emissions in Chile will come from hydrogen and its derivatives.

Hydrogen, which emits only water vapour when consumed, is touted for potential use in high-polluting heavy industries such as steel, metals, cement, and chemicals, as well as in shipping and transport.

But producing it at mass scale is a major challenge, as costs remain high and the infrastructure is lacking so far.