# Hydrogen, meet salt cavern

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2022-04-28
- Length: 45m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=2) Introduction: ACES Project Overview and LPO Loan Guarantee
- [4:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=267) Technical Breakdown: Electrolyzers, Salt Caverns, and Repowering
- [12:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=771) First-of-a-Kind Risks: Salt Dome Storage and Electrolyzer Scaling
- [17:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=1039) The Role of Storage: Peaker Plants vs. Base Load Electrolysis
- [21:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=1261) Hydrogen Hubs: Transport Challenges and Co-location Strategy
- [27:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=1630) Industrial Off-takers: Ammonia, Fertilizer, and Grid Integration
- [34:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=2048) Battery Supply Chains: Lithium-ion vs. Alternative Chemistries
- [38:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=2285) LPO Criteria: Interconnection, Water Rights, and Credit Structure
- [42:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern#t=2560) Future LPO Announcements: ATVM, SAF, and Virtual Power Plants

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Advanced Clean Energy Storage (product)
- Department of Energy (company)
- Intermountain Power Agency (company)
- EnergyHub (company)
- Bloom Energy (company)
- Form Energy (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Storing Clean Energy with Air & Water: Hydrostor’s Game-Changing Tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-02-27-storing-clean-energy-with-air-water-hydrostors-game-changing-tech) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Cryo-Compressed Hydrogen: Solving America’s 50 GW Diesel Generator Problem](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-14-cryo-compressed-hydrogen-solving-americas-50-gw-diesel-generator-problem) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Solving the Hydrogen Storage and Transport Challenge with Natasha Kostenuk, Founder and CEO of Ayrton Energy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-07-04-solving-the-hydrogen-storage-and-transport-challenge-with-natasha-kostenuk-found) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Turning Air, Water, and Sunlight into Natural Gas: Casey Handmer’s Vision for Sustainable Energy Part 1](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-12-05-turning-air-water-and-sunlight-into-natural-gas-casey-handmers-vision-for-sustai) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Unlocking the renewable energy revolution with Ramya Swaminathan of Malta Inc.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-12-unlocking-the-renewable-energy-revolution-with-ramya-swaminathan-of-malta-inc) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-04-28-hydrogen-meet-salt-cavern. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.