As the US Department of Energy takes initial steps towards funding the $8 billion “hydrogen hub” program embedded in last year’s infrastructure bill, activity in the US clean hydrogen sector is beginning to accelerate. Not surprisingly, many of the larger projects in the works are located in Gulf Coast states which benefit from (i) abundant sun and wind; (ii) oil and gas infrastructure that can be expanded or re-purposed for hydrogen; and (iii) geological characteristics favorable to the storage of hydrogen at scale. The high-quality sponsorship of these projects shows a growing recognition of the important role hydrogen will play in difficult to decarbonize industries and increases confidence that the projects will be seen through to conclusion. Examples include:
Hy Stor Energy - Port Bienville, Mississippi
Hy Stor, a company formed to focus on hydrogen projects and led by energy project development veteran Laura Luce, and the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, will partner to develop a clean hydrogen production facility at Port Bienville. The hydrogen will power port operations and surrounding industry including plastic, chemical and equipment producers. The first phase of the project is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2025 and contemplates production of 350 tons per day and salt dome storage capacity of 71,000 tons. Storage facilities will be served by a bi-directional pipeline network to enable 24x7 supply of clean hydrogen to customers.
Air Products & Chemicals - Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Air Products (tkr: APD) will develop a $4.5 billion “blue hydrogen” plant with production capacity of approximately 1,750 tons per day starting in 2026. Blue hydrogen is a phrase used to describe hydrogen derived from natural gas using technology that, in this case, will capture approximately 95% of the carbon released in the production process. This is Air Product’s largest single investment in the US and the hydrogen produced will be distributed through the Company’s existing 700 miles of hydrogen pipeline serving industrial customers from New Orleans, LA to Galveston Bay, TX. Some of the hydrogen will also be used to produce low carbon intensity ammonia. Air Products and the State of Louisiana have further identified inland geologic pore space for the permanent sequester of carbon by-product from the plant.
Green Hydrogen International - Duval County, Texas
GHI will develop the “Hydrogen City” project, a mega-scale green hydrogen production facility centered around the Piedras Pintas Salt Dome. The plant will eventually be powered by 60GW of behind-the-fence solar and wind power with additional energy from the grid during periods of low prices. Among other uses, hydrogen from the plant will be delivered to Brownsville and Corpus Christi to be used as a feedstock for ammonia and sustainable aviation fuel. The first phase of the project, targeted for completion by 2026, will employ 2GW of power and two salt caverns for hydrogen storage eventually growing to more than 50 caverns.
Ares Management - Corpus Christi, Texas
Ares Management, Apex Clean Energy, EPIC Midstream Holdings and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority (PCCA) signed a non-binding MOU to explore the development of a giga-watt scale hydrogen production, storage, transportation and export operation. The project would seek to leverage existing infrastructure on real estate owned by PCCA and builds on a prior MOU between Ares and the PCCA focused on a renewable energy development project.