Hydrogen, meet salt cavern

Catalyst · 28 Apr 2022 · 45m

What this episode covers

Jigar Shah, director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), discusses the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in Utah, which received a $504.4 million conditional loan guarantee. The project utilizes 1,000 megawatts of electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen, storing it in underground salt caverns to support a repowered coal plant and industrial off-takers. Shah explains that the salt dome storage is a first-of-a-kind commercial deployment that de-risks the project for private capital, while also highlighting the strategic value of hydrogen hubs in balancing variable renewable energy and reducing transmission constraints. The conversation covers the economic trade-offs of hydrogen transport, the importance of co-locating production with consumption, and the emerging 'option value' for solar and wind developers who can convert electricity into molecules like green ammonia when power prices are low.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: Department of Energy, Intermountain Power Agency, EnergyHub, Bloom Energy, Form Energy
Products: Advanced Clean Energy Storage

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Hydrogen, meet salt cavern

What this episode covers

Most relevant to

Topics

Mentioned

Related episodes from other shows

Storing Clean Energy with Air & Water: Hydrostor’s Game-Changing Tech

Cryo-Compressed Hydrogen: Solving America’s 50 GW Diesel Generator Problem

Solving the Hydrogen Storage and Transport Challenge with Natasha Kostenuk, Founder and CEO of Ayrton Energy

Turning Air, Water, and Sunlight into Natural Gas: Casey Handmer’s Vision for Sustainable Energy Part 1

Unlocking the renewable energy revolution with Ramya Swaminathan of Malta Inc.