5 Energy Megatrends for Latin America- Chinese Dominance, Cyberattacks And More

Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), a strategic research and business intelligence firm has released a new report, 5 Megatrends For Latin Americas Energy Sector for 2022 and Beyond  in which it has highlighted  five major changes taking place in Latin America’s energy sector:

1. Cleaner fossil fuels gaining traction as Latin America’s green energy market expands.
2. China’s control of the green energy supply chain.
3. The growth of distributed energy resources.
4. The green hydrogen market in Latin America is about to take off.
5. An increase in cyberattacks on energy assets.

“We decided to focus the report on these megatrends so that companies can anticipate them and adjust their strategies accordingly,” explains Arthur Deakin, Co-Director of AMI’s Energy practice. “As seen in the recent decisions involving ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell, the energy sector is undergoing a green energy revolution that can be a bit unpredictable. Although the sector’s volatility is even greater in Latin America, in general, we feel that the data supports these megatrends and that data is what fuels this report.”

Among some points made in the report are Latin America’s struggle to move up the value chain in EV’s, despite having 57 percent of global reserves of Lithium, through its ‘Lithium Triangle’ of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

the report makes a case for an $18 billion dollar investment needed to harden the  region’s transmission infrastructure, while adding that the potential or distributed renewable energy, particularly in Brazil, remains high, with upto 6x growth possible upto 2030. If subsidies are maintained, that means a growth from 4 GW to 25 GW.

On Cyber attacks, the report highlights how the energy sector has become the third most attacked sector in 2020, up from the 9th, in 2019. Similarly, three of the top 15 countries subjected to Cyberattacks on Industrial control systems (ICS) are from Latin America. Obsolete power infrastructure is one reason for these attacks.

On China’s dominance, the report acknowledges the fact that China will use its dominance of the green energy supply chain to extract more concessions from countries in the region. It’s a strategy China has started using already,  while negotiating for mining rights in the region.

Chile is highlighted as a country with a clear strategy for green hydrogen production, that seeks to become one of the lowest cost producers and exporters by 2040.