Chile–Finland Platform: Corfo, Fundación Chile and VTT carry out an intensive work agenda with strategic productive sectors

The Executive Vice President of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo), José Miguel Benavente, took part in an intensive agenda of working meetings in Santiago with companies and representatives of the country’s strategic productive sectors, including mining and the forestry industry. These activities marked the beginning of the implementation of the “Chile–Finland Platform for Technological Development and Transfer,” promoted by Corfo and Business Finland, and implemented by Fundación Chile and the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT).

The activities began on Wednesday, January 7, as part of Fundación Chile’s 50th anniversary celebration, where Kalle Härkki, President and CEO of VTT, was the keynote speaker. In addition to highlighting the positive impact expected from this binational alliance, he shared key aspects of Finland’s successful development process, its most innovative advances, and the challenges the country currently faces. Among other points, Härkki emphasized the importance of international cooperation in science and technology, constant renewal as a driver of economic growth, and the strategic role of alliances such as the Chile–Finland Platform in addressing future challenges in sustainable development and innovation.

During the ceremony, Fundación Chile and SOFOFA also signed a collaboration agreement establishing a framework to promote technological innovation, industrial decarbonization, the circular economy, the bioeconomy, and the strengthening of environmental Monitoring, Reporting and Verification.

That afternoon, Benavente and Härkki —together with Jussi Manninen, Executive Vice President of Carbon Neutrality at VTT, and Hernán Araneda, CEO of Fundación Chile— met with René Aguilar, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Antofagasta Minerals (AMSA). The meeting addressed the main technological challenges associated with mining expansion and sustainability projects, such as electrification and efficiency in the processing of low-grade ores, which today define the focus of R&D investments and open opportunities for collaboration with suppliers.

“This Platform allows us to move from cooperation to concrete action, bringing together companies, technology centers, and ventures from both countries to address key productive and environmental challenges with solutions that generate economic value and sustainable development in strategic areas for the country,” said Corfo’s Executive Vice President, José Miguel Benavente.

On Thursday morning, an important meeting was held with representatives of the National Mining Company (Enami), led by its Executive Vice President, Iván Mlynarz, as the company will play a key role in the technological development initiatives that the Chile–Finland Platform carries out with Chile’s medium-scale mining sector. In this context, participants highlighted the importance of systematically addressing the technological, productive, and sustainability challenges of small and medium-scale mining, as well as ENAMI’s participation in the governance of the Platform’s mining vertical, contributing to the definition of priorities, stakeholder coordination, and alignment with the country’s productive development objectives.

At midday, representatives from Corfo, Fundación Chile, and VTT visited Anglo American’s Integrated Operations Center (IOC), which enables remote operational control and highly automated processes at the Los Bronces mine. They also held a meeting with Patricio Hidalgo, CEO of Anglo American Chile; Juan Pablo Schaeffer, VP of Corporate Affairs; and Diego Sierpe, Principal of Socio-Economic Development Americas at Anglo American. During the meeting, they discussed current R&D investment priorities and challenges related to tailings and large-scale mining waste, as well as potential initiatives through the binational Platform.

Finally, on Thursday afternoon, a meeting was held with Chile’s two leading forestry production companies: Arauco, represented by its CEO Cristian Infante and Sustainability Manager Charles Kimber; and CMPC, represented by Augusto Robert, VP of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, and Jorge Valdivieso, New Business Manager. Also participating were Rodrigo O’Ryan, President, and Patricio Toledo, Board Member, of the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma), the trade association that brings together producers and suppliers in the sector.

The meeting addressed the sector’s challenges and opportunities, shared the Chile–Finland collaboration experience developed by companies in the sector, and explored areas of innovation with the potential to energize business and entrepreneurial ecosystems in both countries. As a result of the dialogue, participants agreed to create a working group aimed at developing a joint roadmap to identify specific challenges faced by small and medium-sized companies in the sector and mobilize the broader ecosystem around the Platform, promoting innovation, collaboration, and technological development initiatives with an impact on competitiveness, sustainability, and the country’s productive development.

“This Platform reflects a way of working focused on innovation and productive development that Fundación Chile knows well: starting from the real challenges of strategic sectors, bringing together public and private capabilities, and transforming advanced knowledge into solutions that can scale. This alliance allows us to accelerate that process by connecting mining, the forestry industry, and other sectors with technologies, talent, and innovation models that have already demonstrated impact. Our role is to ensure that this transfer takes place with a focus on productivity, sustainability, and the creation of new opportunities for companies, suppliers, and science- and technology-based ventures in Chile,” said Hernán Araneda, CEO of Fundación Chile.

Chile–Finland binational alliance

The “Chile–Finland Platform for Technological Development and Transfer” seeks to strengthen local capabilities for the development, adaptation, and scaling of high-impact technologies for decarbonization and climate change adaptation. It aims to drive co-creation and co-innovation efforts among companies and strategic productive sectors, regional governments, technology transfer centers, and other relevant players in Chile’s ecosystem, together with companies and R&D institutions from Finland, mobilizing talent and promoting science- and technology-based ventures.

Initially, this alliance will run for five years and will be financed with an initial contribution of US$20 million from Corfo, through the R&D contribution from lithium contracts, together with leveraged resources from the Finnish ecosystem and other national and international sources, to complete an estimated total budget of US$50 million.