The Advanced Clean Energy Storage project, co-developed by Mitsubishi Power, is set to start operations in mid-2025

US oil major Chevron has taken a 78% stake in the massive Advanced Clean Energy Storage hydrogen project in Delta, Utah (ACES Delta) via buying 100% of developer Magnum Development.

The ACES Delta complex will use 220MW of electrolysers supplied by HydrogenPro run on renewable electricity during off-peak hours to produce 100 tonnes of green hydrogen per day. This H₂ will then be stored in two salt caverns capable of storing around 11,000 tonnes, equivalent to more than 300GWh of dispatchable energy.

The project is already set to supply the nearby IPP Renewed ‘hydrogen-ready’ 840MW gas-fired power plant, which aims to run on a 30% H₂ blend from 2025, moving up to 100% by 2045.

Chevron confirmed in a press release that the first phase of the project is already under construction, although the cost of acquisition has not been disclosed.

“As we continue to pursue lower carbon energy solutions, we are excited to move forward with the Advanced Clean Energy Storage hydrogen project, through our acquisition of Magnum Development and partnership with Mitsubishi Power, to build on Chevron’s 75-year history in Utah,” said Austin Knight, vice president for hydrogen at Chevron New Energies.

“We seek to leverage the unique strengths of each partner to develop a large-scale, hydrogen platform that provides affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy and helps our customers achieve their lower carbon goals.”

Reports estimate that ACES Delta will cost around $1bn to develop. HydrogenPro has previously announced that its delivery of the initial 40 electrolysers would cost Mitsubishi $50m, although this did not include wider installation and commissioning works, which would be done by other companies.

However, the project had secured a $504.4m loan guarantee from the Department of Energy in June 2022.

While the developers have previously described it as a “hub”, it was not included in list of projects included in an application by the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub (WIH2), led by the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, for up to $1.25bn from the DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program.

Source:HydrogenInsight