Rebeca Poleo is the new president of H2 Chile

Monday, April 29, 2024.- Rebeca Poleo, Director of Hydrogen Projects at Engie, is the new president of the Chilean Hydrogen Association, H2 Chile, and Kimberly Sánchez, Country Head of Vestas in Chile, has taken over as vice president within the framework of the Eighth Ordinary Assembly of Partners where 5 directors were renewed for the period 2024-2026.

An unprecedented fact for the union, which since 2022, after a reform of its statutes, established that at least three members of its board of directors must be women, marking a milestone by incorporating gender diversity criteria in the highest management body. of the association.

On the occasion, the around 140 members – professionals and companies – that make up the union, and who represent the entire hydrogen value chain, met to analyze the current state of the industry, take stock of 2023 and project the challenges and main actions to implement this year.

In the instance, the other directors who will join during this period were also elected. These are Juan Andrés Camus, Director of the Southern Green Energy Project, EDF Chile; Carolina Cuevas, Head of Innovation Acciona Energía; and Rubén Pérez, General Manager Inner Green. Thus the board was made up of 5 women and 5 men.

The meeting was led by the founder and now former president of the board of directors of H2 Chile, Hans Kulenkampff, and its executive director, Marcos Kulka, who highlighted the important advances of the industry during 2023, which have given rise to the current context in which it exists. a portfolio of 67 publicly announced projects in the country, of which there are 8 operational, and it is expected that within the first half of 2024 there will be around 6 projects that will be presented for Environmental Assessment.

Hans Kulenkampff valued the country’s progress, which has been expressed in the support that the Government has given to the industry, continuing the National Green Hydrogen Strategy through the h2v Action Plan 2023-2030, among other measures.

However, he warned that “Chile may lose its competitiveness if we do not accelerate the pace; Countries like Colombia, Brazil and Uruguay are hot on our heels. The difference will be made by the countries that manage to overcome the challenges in the next 2 years.”

Along these lines, he referred to the multiple challenges that exist to enable this industry in domestic demand, offtakers, legal certainty, agility of sectoral and environmental permits, financing and investment, enabling infrastructure and social license to operate, among others.

The executive emphasized, in a special way, that this race will be won by reaching agreements: “public-private and public-public coordination. If we are able to achieve this, in the times demanded by the urgency of climate change, we will continue to be the pioneers of the region.”

In the instance, Kulenkampff thanked the outgoing directors for their commitment and dedication: Asunción Borrás, Juan Pablo Zúñiga, Andrea Moraga and Erwin Plett, who accompanied him from the first stage of H2 Chile. Along these lines, he referred to the achievements of H2 Chile: “we are very satisfied with the work we have done during these six years. The association has been key to accelerating the adoption of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives in our society, providing critical information to accelerate the industry. Our union has positioned itself to give legitimacy to the industry, due to its high representativeness. Today we are a valid interlocutor with the public sector at the central and regional level. In addition, we are a Latin American benchmark and a constant actor in different international alliances that allow Chile to position itself on the global stage.”

In relation to the election of Rebeca Poleo and Kimberly Sánchez as new leaders of the union, he had words of praise and support for both professionals: “I have known both of them for more than 5 years, and I know that they have all the capabilities to continue leading H2 Chile in their different areas of work, both will complement each other very well,” he stated.

Work agenda of the new leaders

The new president, Rebeca Poleo, and vice president, Kimberly Sánchez, expressed their desire to consolidate the achievements made to date by H2 Chile, in addition to promoting the implementation of the Green Hydrogen Action Plan 2023 – 2030 and promoting changes that facilitate access financing and streamlining procedures, all with the aim of strengthening the renewable hydrogen industry in Chile and maintaining its competitiveness internationally. The above – they said – aligned with the needs of the members of the union.

Regarding what will be her work agenda, Rebeca Poleo, pointed out that among her main actions are “promoting and promoting from the union, changes in the administration of the financial facilities announced in Chile, but that are not being used to expedite the development.” of the industry nor to shorten the gap between offtakers and producers.”

The executive added that “concrete financing instruments and/or subsidies are needed for large-scale projects that have a real impact on the price of the final product, such as green hydrogen or its derivatives.” Finally, she emphasized that “it is crucial to collaborate with the State and advocate for legislative changes that facilitate the implementation of projects that boost the production chain.”

Finally, the executive director of H2 Chile, Marcos Kulka, had words of gratitude for the outgoing directors: “Hans Kulenkampff, in his capacity as founding president, and those who have accompanied him on this path, have done a remarkable job. They were pioneers in Latin America. It was possible to capture a vision of a new high-potential future industry, key to the energy transition, to decarbonize our economy and the planet, with high value for the territories and their communities.”

Kulka also reflected on the stage at which the new leaders of the union are reaching: “Rebeca Poleo together with Kimberly Sánchez, arrive at a critical turning point, where our country is playing a unique window of opportunity in these coming years. In the years to come, we must be able to overcome all challenges so that this opportunity becomes a reality for Chile and its people; in order to become a key actor in the global context.”

Trajectory

Of Venezuelan origin, Rebeca Poleo is a chemical engineer, she has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Central University of Venezuela, a Diploma in Leadership and Project Management from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and certified as a Project Management Professional from the PMI Institute. She currently works as head of hydrogen projects.

He has 19 years of professional experience in the area of ​​operation, design and construction of Oil and Gas facilities in Venezuela, Chile and Bolivia. For the last 5 years she has specialized in the design and development of green hydrogen projects and derivatives in Chile, reviewer of the Guide to Request Authorization for Special Hydrogen Projects issued by the SEC (2021), rapporteur and panelist at national events in the context of the green hydrogen industry, founding member as Alternate Director of the Association of H2V Producers of Magallanes, member of the Ethics and Compliance Committee of H2 Chile. She is a speaker at SER-CAP for the Green Hydrogen Specialization training course.

For her part, Kimberly Sánchez, Venezuelan, electrical engineer with a degree from the Rafael Urdaneta University and an MBA from the EAE Business School (Spain), has been Country Head of Vestas in Chile since the beginning of September 2023. With almost 3 years in the company Danish global, the executive combines her position with the position of Sales and Business Development Manager for Latin America, responsible for promoting sustainable renewable H2 and Power-to-X solutions.

Kimberly has 12 years of professional experience in which she has played business development and project management roles, considering the sizing of electrical power systems, and applying principles of energy efficiency and high reliability, demand electrification and electromobility for the industry. energy, the mining, logistics sector, among others.