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Released January 16, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) opened the door for funding the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's (BIL) $7 billion for developing regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) across America. At that time, the DOE began taking first-round proposals from entities that had begun developing plans for which they hoped to receive some of the BIL's dollars.
In late December 2022, after evaluating those entries, the DOE issued invitations for more detailed proposals in a second round. Among those receiving invites were the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, and a trio of southwestern states known as HALO Hydrogen Hub.
A cooperative effort between governments and private entities in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, HALO (an acronym apparently derived from first letters of hydrogen and the state names) aims to leverage their area's "ample natural gas production; robust pipeline networks; rail and river transports; heavy industry that already relies on hydrogen as a feedstock; established ports and trucking centers that could convert to hydrogen fuel; and opportunities to take advantage of regional geology to sequester carbon captured from hydrogen production deep underground," according to a joint statement.
All three states produce significant amounts of oil and gas, and Louisiana is considered the nation's leading carbon capture and storage (CCS) destination. In natural gas production, Louisiana is third, accounting for 9.9% of U.S. production (U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2021 figures), Oklahoma is fifth with 6.7% and Arkansas comes in 10th among states.
Already a CCS hotbed, Louisiana has announced several new projects, including one that could be the nation's single largest. Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) is proposing a $4.5 billion blue hydrogen plant there. It would produce blue hydrogen from natural gas. The leftover carbon dioxide (CO2) would be piped to Lake Mauripas and stored about one mile down. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing project and plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the related plant profile.
For related information, see November 4, 2022, article - Air Products Pours Capital into Hydrogen as Market Booms.
Due to existing pipelines for both CCS and natural gas, the latter of which is true for all three states, HALO leaders felt they had a natural geographical connection for a hub. Most of Arkansas' gas production comes from counties close to the borders of Oklahoma or Louisiana, making cross-border connections ideal.
A HALO press release says that a full application, if accepted, would provide up to $1.25 billion in federal funding. The application will be due April 7, 2023.
The Port of Corpus Christi's (POCC) Horizons Clean Hydrogen Hub (HCH2) includes about 30 private sector participants. More notable names include Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) (Latham, New York), Repsol Hydrogen, Buckeye Partners, L.P. (Houston, Texas), Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (MYSE:MMP) (Tulsa, Oklahoma), and Mitsubishi Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). Texas has several large clean hydrogen projects in the works, including one in north Texas, and one in Bay City (located between Houston and Corpus Christi). POCC's HCH2 expects to connect those and other clean hydrogen production plants with end users both in the region and beyond. Subscribers can click here for a list of green hydrogen-related project reports from Texas.
Also in play is the fact that refineries up and down the Gulf Coast already use extensive amounts of hydrogen to process oil and gas. While much of that is currently produced as grey or blue hydrogen from natural gas with or without CCS, the growth of green hydrogen plants is expected to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the future. The area already has 110 miles of hydrogen pipelines used by those industries.
And POCC sees other nearby industries switching to hydrogen, not just for direct industrial use, but also in electricity generation.
If funded, the project would be completed in three phases, all of which, the press release states, are already in development, "to supply existing and developing demand."
A Houston area coalition, known as HyVelocity Hub, sporting members including the University of Texas, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) and led by nonprofits Center for Houston's Future and GTI Energy, also has been invited to submit a second-round bid. Projects in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere also are on the round-two list.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
In late December 2022, after evaluating those entries, the DOE issued invitations for more detailed proposals in a second round. Among those receiving invites were the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, and a trio of southwestern states known as HALO Hydrogen Hub.
A cooperative effort between governments and private entities in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, HALO (an acronym apparently derived from first letters of hydrogen and the state names) aims to leverage their area's "ample natural gas production; robust pipeline networks; rail and river transports; heavy industry that already relies on hydrogen as a feedstock; established ports and trucking centers that could convert to hydrogen fuel; and opportunities to take advantage of regional geology to sequester carbon captured from hydrogen production deep underground," according to a joint statement.
All three states produce significant amounts of oil and gas, and Louisiana is considered the nation's leading carbon capture and storage (CCS) destination. In natural gas production, Louisiana is third, accounting for 9.9% of U.S. production (U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2021 figures), Oklahoma is fifth with 6.7% and Arkansas comes in 10th among states.
Already a CCS hotbed, Louisiana has announced several new projects, including one that could be the nation's single largest. Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) is proposing a $4.5 billion blue hydrogen plant there. It would produce blue hydrogen from natural gas. The leftover carbon dioxide (CO2) would be piped to Lake Mauripas and stored about one mile down. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing project and plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the related plant profile.
For related information, see November 4, 2022, article - Air Products Pours Capital into Hydrogen as Market Booms.
Due to existing pipelines for both CCS and natural gas, the latter of which is true for all three states, HALO leaders felt they had a natural geographical connection for a hub. Most of Arkansas' gas production comes from counties close to the borders of Oklahoma or Louisiana, making cross-border connections ideal.
A HALO press release says that a full application, if accepted, would provide up to $1.25 billion in federal funding. The application will be due April 7, 2023.
The Port of Corpus Christi's (POCC) Horizons Clean Hydrogen Hub (HCH2) includes about 30 private sector participants. More notable names include Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) (Latham, New York), Repsol Hydrogen, Buckeye Partners, L.P. (Houston, Texas), Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (MYSE:MMP) (Tulsa, Oklahoma), and Mitsubishi Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). Texas has several large clean hydrogen projects in the works, including one in north Texas, and one in Bay City (located between Houston and Corpus Christi). POCC's HCH2 expects to connect those and other clean hydrogen production plants with end users both in the region and beyond. Subscribers can click here for a list of green hydrogen-related project reports from Texas.
Also in play is the fact that refineries up and down the Gulf Coast already use extensive amounts of hydrogen to process oil and gas. While much of that is currently produced as grey or blue hydrogen from natural gas with or without CCS, the growth of green hydrogen plants is expected to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the future. The area already has 110 miles of hydrogen pipelines used by those industries.
And POCC sees other nearby industries switching to hydrogen, not just for direct industrial use, but also in electricity generation.
If funded, the project would be completed in three phases, all of which, the press release states, are already in development, "to supply existing and developing demand."
A Houston area coalition, known as HyVelocity Hub, sporting members including the University of Texas, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) and led by nonprofits Center for Houston's Future and GTI Energy, also has been invited to submit a second-round bid. Projects in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere also are on the round-two list.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
