Podcast
Jigar Shah explains why DOE is backing a huge green hydrogen hub
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office has conditionally approved a $504 million loan guarantee for what’s expected to be one of biggest green hydrogen projects in the U.S.
A massive green hydrogen project in Utah has won a $504.4 million conditional loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. The project, called Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES), will generate hydrogen from renewable power and store it deep underground in what’s called a salt dome. ACES will use that stored hydrogen to generate electricity in a hybrid power plant that runs on both natural gas and hydrogen.
ACES is one of the many planned hydrogen hubs in the U.S., and once completed it will be one of the largest in the country. The loan will finance an initial 220 megawatts of hydrogen production and 300 gigawatt-hours of storage.
What did it take to put this deal together, and what does it say about the future of hydrogen hubs?
In this episode of Catalyst, host Shayle Kann talks to Jigar Shah, director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, about the ACES project. Shah explains what made ACES an attractive applicant to the Loan Programs Office, the government agency behind the conditional loan guarantee. They discuss why the salt-dome storage is essential to making the project work, and other uses for hydrogen beyond power production, like as a feedstock for ammonia production and other heavy industries. They also break down the difficulties in transporting hydrogen and the need to locate hydrogen production near consumption.
Recommended reading:
- Canary Media: Massive green hydrogen hub in Utah wins $504M federal loan guarantee
- Canary Media: Jigar Shah has a new strategy to boost climatetech through DOE loans
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