H2Tech - Q3 2021 - 10

REGIONAL REPORT: NORTH AMERICA
ity. Furthermore, the plans aim to bring
down electrolyzer capital cost to $250/
kW-$300/kW with 65% system efficiency
and 80,000-hr durability (FIG. 2).2
Achieving these price targets will help
meet the Biden-Harris Administration's
goals of a 100% carbon-free electric sector
by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by
2050.2
The potential for U.S. H2
exports is
also being analyzed, with preliminary estimates
of the cost of H2
exports from the
U.S. to Europe or Japan at $5/kg-$6/kg.
H2
projects. As of June 2021, the U.S.
has 182 MW of planned and installed
PEM electrolyzer capacity (FIG. 3), according
to the DOE. Regionally speaking,
the U.S. has two potential H2
low-carbon fuel standard is incentivizing
research and development for H2
technologies and renewable natural gas
hubs:
the green-focused West Coast and the
industrial-heavy Gulf Coast.
On the West Coast, California's
(RNG). The California Energy Commission
and the California Resources
Board have provided direct funding
for the development of H2
projects and
technologies, putting California in the
lead for U.S. H2
development.
In recent and ongoing projects, SoCalGas'
H2 Hydrogen Home is the first
project in the U.S. to show how green H2
can be used in pure form or as a blend to
power homes. The project, which will be
built in late 2021 in Downey, California,
will encompass solar panels, a battery and
an electrolyzer to convert solar energy into
green H2
. In March 2021, SoCalGas became
the largest gas utility in North America
to commit to net-zero carbon emissions
by 2045. A key component of this
goal is to complete five H2
pilot projects
by 2025, including H2 Hydrogen Home.
The Los Angeles Department of Water
and Power (LADWP) plans to convert
its coal-fired Intermountain Power
Cooling
Hydrogen processing
Deionized water circulation
Power supplies
Balance of stack
Assembly and end plates
Bipolar plates
Frame
Porous transport layer
Catalyst-coated membrane
Production rate, units/yr
FIG. 2. Pathway for reducing electrolyzer cost.
plant in Utah, which feeds the California
market, to a mix of 30% electrolyzerproduced
H2
feedstock will rise to 100% H2
and 70% natural gas. The
over the
coming decades. The 840-MW project
will help the LADWP meet its 100% renewable
energy targets. Also, San Diego
Gas & Electric plans to bring two longduration
green H2
storage projects online
by 2022. In Nevada, industrial gases
supplier Air Liquide is investing $150
MM in a renewable liquid H2
generation
plant to produce 30 tpd of low-carbon
H2
, or enough to supply 40,000 FCEVs,
when it opens in 2022.
In California, the long-haul trucking
sector is moving toward H2
, as the molecule
offers a distinct cost advantage over
diesel, even without the positive environmental
impact. California has the largest
total number of FCEVs in the U.S. and
one of the largest networks of retail refueling
stations in the world, and is expected
to host 200 H2
is building H2
stations by 2025. Shell
fueling stations in the Los
Angeles area to serve the port's FCEV fueling
needs. Also, SoCalGas and SunLine
Transit Agency are testing two technologies
that will produce H2
from RNG at
SunLine Transit Agency's H2 fueling station
in Thousand Palms, California. The
research project, called H2 SilverSTARS,
will produce green H2
to fuel SunLine's
fleet of 17 H2
fuel cell electric buses
(OPENING PHOTO).
On the Gulf Coast, the Houston, Texas
area boasts almost 50 steam methane
reformers (SMRs), as well as a 420-mi
pipeline network to transport H2
. The
geology of the Gulf Coast region is also
favorable for constructing salt-dome caverns
for H2
bonize its existing SMR-based infrastructure
to create a significant H2
storage. Houston can decarmarket
in
the region over the next 2 yr-3 yr, according
to think tank Center for Houston's
Future. Texas is also home to a large portion
of the U.S.' wind energy production
and has significant solar power resources,
making it favorable for the development
of green H2
production.
A number of utilities on the West and
FIG. 3. Planned and installed PEM electrolyzer capacity in the U.S., as of June 2021.
Source: DOE HFTO Program Record.
10 Q3 2021 | H2-Tech.com
Gulf Coasts have made pledges to eliminate
their carbon emissions by 2050,
echoing the net-zero commitments by
European and Asian governments and
corporations. In line with its own pledge,
Gulf Coast utility Entergy plans to build a
1,215-MW power plant near Bridge City,
$/kW
http://www.H2-Tech.com
H2Tech - Q3 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of H2Tech - Q3 2021
