Atacama PSH: Competitive Long-Duration Storage for Chile’s Energy Transition

Delivering competitive renewable electricity around the clock requires storage that combines scale, duration and lasting value. HYVITY’s Atacama project is designed to meet this need, complementing battery storage and supporting the development of dispatchable green power supply.

With 3,600 MWh of storage capacity with up to 450 MW power, Atacama will be able to deliver eight hours of generation at full output. By shifting northern Chile’s abundant daytime solar surplus into the night, the project will help turn renewable generation into reliable electricity for mining and industrial consumers.

Complementary technologies serving different needs

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) provide fast, flexible solutions for renewable integration and grid balancing. Pumped storage hydropower adds the ability to store very large quantities of energy and sustain delivery over extended periods. Together, these technologies can address the different flexibility needs of an increasingly renewable electricity system.

For Atacama, the objective is clear: combine long-duration storage with renewable generation to support competitive green power purchase agreements offering dispatchable supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Competitiveness measured over decades

Atacama’s estimated CAPEX of USD 775 million excluding financing costs represents approximately USD 215 per kWh of storage capacity. Depending on project scope and operating requirements, pumped storage and BESS can have comparable upfront costs per unit of energy storage. Their full economic value, however, must also account for operating life, efficiency, maintenance and equipment replacement.

Pumped storage benefits from decades of operating experience, with civil infrastructure capable of serving for more than 80 years, supported by maintenance and periodic refurbishment of electromechanical equipment. Its storage medium is water: maintaining energy capacity does not require recurring battery cell replacement. This reduces long-term exposure to battery mineral and component prices, including the prices prevailing when future replacements become necessary.

Lasting value for the electricity system

Alongside energy storage, pumped hydropower can provide physical inertia, frequency regulation, voltage support and sustained dispatchable capacity. These capabilities complement the rapid response and advanced control services available from modern BESS.

Where recognised and remunerated by the market, capacity and ancillary services can provide additional revenues, strengthening the project’s economic resilience and competitiveness.

Through Atacama and its wider development portfolio, HYVITY aims to make long-duration storage a foundation for competitive, dispatchable green electricity, strengthening energy sovereignty and supporting industrial decarbonisation.