The proposed project in Bakerfield, California is set to utilise Fusion Fuel’s HEVO technology, with hopes of producing approximately 9,300 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
Estimated to require a $175m capital investment, a final investment decision is expected in early 2024, with commissioning planned to take place in first half of 2025.
H2 View understands Fusion Fuel and Electus have already entered into a land-lease agreement to secure 320 acres in Kern County, California. Additionally, Fusion Fuel says it has engaged Black & Veatch to perform a concept study and is also working with Cornerstone Engineering and Headwaters Solutions.
“This is a critical moment for Fusion Fuel and for our ambition to be a global leader in clean hydrogen solutions,” said Jason Baran, Chief Commercial Officer at Fusion Fuel. “In just under two years as a public company, Fusion Fuel has established itself as a key player in the Iberian green hydrogen ecosystem. However, we knew that entering a new market, particularly one as large and complex as North America, would require a cornerstone project and a credible partner.”
Baran added, “Due to the unique combination of solar irradiance, California tax incentives, and proximity to large-scale offtake, Bakersfield is the ideal project to anchor our North American strategy.”
Having announced several projects in southern Europe for its decentralised solar-to-hydrogen electrolyser solution, the HEVO-Solar, last week (November 23), Fusion Fuel announced it was entering the centralised PEM electrolyser market with its HEVO-Chain.
Read more: Portugal’s Fusion Fuel announces entry into centralised PEM electrolyser market
Zachary Steele, Co-head of Fusion Fuel, commented, “Bakersfield will be the first anchor project of our US strategy, which is heavily focused on the hydrogen mobility and logistics opportunity and envisions a hydrogen highway from California to Texas.
“While our HEVO-Solar technology is best suited for markets with high solar irradiance, the expected introduction in 2024 of our newest product – HEVO-Chain – will make the entirety of North America part of our addressable market.”
Fusion Fuel’s decentralised, scalable solar-to-hydrogen solution
Across the hydrogen production industry, there are an increasing number of projects where clean electricity production is being integrated with electrolysis technology. However, there are few solutions on currently on the market that offer quite such a comprehensive solution as Fusion Fuel’s.
Fusion Fuel’s origin story begins with a Portuguese concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology firm and an idea to utilise the thermal energy created as a by-product of the solar concentration process to improve electrolyser efficiency. By developing an integrated technology that uses both the electrical energy to power the electrolysis process, and the waste heat to optimise the feed water temperature, Fusion Fuel was able to reduce the energy required to produce green hydrogen.
That technology comes in the form of the HEVO-Solar, which has been described as a miniature proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser with an integrated CPV system, allowing an entire package for off-grid, decentralised green hydrogen production. And the company now leverages the technology advancements with a full solutions-based approach to partnership engagements and green hydrogen deployments…
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