An MOU for a new green hydrogen project in the United States was signed 9 December by Enel Green Power North America and NextChem, a Maire Technimont subsidiary focussed on energy transition technologies.
The project, which is expected to be operational in 2023, will convert renewable energy from one of EGPNA’s solar plants in the United States into green hydrogen to be supplied to a bio-refinery.
As an early leader in green hydrogen development, Enel Green Power is actively evaluating opportunities to co-locate electrolysers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, across its development pipeline in the US. By combining two or more technologies, like solar and an electrolyser, Enel Green Power is able to create an integrated plant that can leverage on more sources of revenue and/or generate further risk mitigation options. In the US, the company is focused on states with an existing operational presence, such as Texas, Utah and North Dakota. Projects in the green hydrogen segment are also being developed by the company in Italy, Spain and Chile. As green hydrogen is a new business application, the Enel Group is monitoring the relevant market developments to identify the most efficient way to achieve its plans to grow its green hydrogen capacity to over 2 GW by 2030.
Under the current agreement, NextChem will act as technology and engineering partner and full turnkey EPC contractor, providing Enel Green Power with the necessary technical assistance in relation to the development and implementation of the project.
This agreement represents the first application of a Framework Cooperation Agreement between Enel and NextChem to evaluate the implementation of joint projects, including the testing of advanced technologies to increase efficiency in the production of green hydrogen using renewables.