In Chile, the biggest copper producer, all the talk about how to help heavy industry switch from fossil fuels to green hydrogen energy is already being put into practice.
An Anglo American pilot project has been supplying clean gas to forklifts at a waste treatment plant in Chile for the past two months, and the London-based company is considering applying it to other equipment and eventually to large trucks, said Aaron Puna, a Chile manager.
Chief Executive Officer Ivan Arriagada said Antofagasta is also looking at pilot projects to run hydrogen equipment.
Even Codelco, a big state-owned producer, is contacting companies with a view to introducing fuel into its business.
Green hydrogen, which is produced by using electrolyzers powered by wind and solar energy to extract gas from water, is seen as key to eliminating carbon emissions from the industrial sector.
Chile, which has vast copper deposits and large amounts of renewable energy, wants to foster a local hydrogen industry to help meet its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050 and to help mining companies change at a time when investors are increasingly under scrutiny.
Most of the country's large coal mines have already begun a transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, with hydrogen the next frontier.
Ariagada says these changes often happen faster than we expect, but technology needs to evolve and there are multiple stakeholders that need to come together.
We want to actively enable and promote this to the extent that we can.
Antofagasta is talking to some people and thinking it can move in that direction itself.
Anglo is growing even faster.
After developing the forklift project, it is looking to replace diesel engines in other equipment, such as cranes, and to use lessons learned from South Africa's hydrogen prototype to replace the entire fleet at the Los Bronces mine.
The goal is to eliminate diesel altogether by 2030.
Although Codelco is in contact with possible providers, Juan Benavides, chairman, said the talks were at an early stage.
He points out that green hydrogen has many hurdles to overcome in order to become more competitive.
And while it's promising at the moment, it's expensive.
The Chilean government has identified about 40 projects, including mining, and plans to allocate $50 million this year to reduce electrolysis costs and expand production.
The authorities have also set up a technical advisory group to pave the way for a rise in the carbon price, which would make green hydrogen more competitive with fossil fuels.
