Black & Veatch to assess feasibility of world’s largest green hydrogen plant: $5.4B Base One; 600 million kg/pa
21 March 2021
EPC firm Black & Veatch will undertake feasibility studies central to the development of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. When operational, Enegix Energy’s planned Base One facility in Ceará, Brazil will produce more than 600 million kilograms of green hydrogen annually. Base One is anticipated to take three to four years to build.
The highly ambitious new-build electrolysis facility will be powered entirely by renewable energy, initially 3.4 gigawatts of solar and onshore wind. Ceará’s potential for renewable energy generation, coupled with access to a strategic deep-sea port to facilitate the export of hydrogen, was key to the choice of the scoped 500-hectare site for the US$5.4-billion investment.
Enegix Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Black & Veatch for the delivery of feasibility studies key to advancing the green hydrogen plant’s creation.
Hydrogen project developers and investors need confidence in the quality of the advice they receive. The most complete analysis will come from partners with expertise in hydrogen, renewable energy generation, and the complex interfaces between them that define projects like Base One. Facilities such as the one proposed by Enegix are at the heart of making hydrogen a core component of a zero-carbon global economy; and our integrated approach places us in a unique position to contribute.
—Gary Martin, a Managing Director with Black & Veatch’s Oil & Gas business
Hydrogen has the potential to reduce and replace reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation and storage, heating, transport, production of green chemicals and fertilizer. Across the globe, Black & Veatch is engaged in developing, designing and constructing decarbonization solutions that fulfill these objectives.
As well as new-build undertakings like our MoU with Enegix Energy, Black & Veatch’s reputation for execution certainty means we are supporting many projects to adapt existing power and process infrastructure for a role in the hydrogen economy. In a US first, for example, we are working with Long Ridge Energy Generation to retrofit a 485-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant making it the nation’s first large gas turbine plant to transition operations to hydrogen fuel.
—Gary Martin
In January 2021, reflecting its ongoing commitment to decarbonization and further advancing efforts to create a more balanced energy portfolio, Black & Veatch joined the Hydrogen Council.
This project together with comparably vast ones in Saudi and Australia give the lie to the meme which has been around for years that hydrogen production is fossil fuels by another name.
I look forward to those who have been claiming that offering a retraction.
Posted by: Davemart | 21 March 2021 at 02:53 AM
The old MAGA crowd looks for excuses.
Posted by: SJC | 21 March 2021 at 06:20 AM
If this plant is amortized over 20 years, then the plant cost per kg of H2 would be $0.41. If wanting to pay the debt in 10 years without interest, then the plant cost per kg would be $0.82. Adding interest, then the company can charge $1 per kg to pay off the plant cost in 10 years. After 10 yrs, then the plant is paid off, and each kg of H2 would only incur the operational and maintenance ( O&M) cost + the energy cost only.
At 3 cent per kg and 50 kWh per kg, then energy cost would be $1.50 and plant cost during the first 10 yrs would $1 per kg= $2.50. Adding O&M cost, tax, and profit, and each kg of green H2 could be priced around $4 per kg in the market.
When used for heating purpose, and for combined electricity and waste heat, we can use the HHV of H2 at nearly 40 kWh per kg, to come up with 10 cents per kWh.
When used in FCEV at 70 mi per kg, we have to add the distribution cost and compression cost, to raise the cost to ~$7 per kg, resulting in 10 cents per mile.
This is comparable to ICEV with 25 mpg and gasoline at $2.5 per gallon.
After 10 years, and with a local H2 piping system to take H2 from the plant to each home and to the H2 stations, using modified existing NG piping system thus low cost, we would expect massive reduction in the cost of H2 distribution at the pump, due to $1 reduction in production cost and $2 reduction in distribution cost = $4 at the pump. This would make FCEV comparable to BEV in energy cost per mile.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 21 March 2021 at 07:49 PM
I would argue that the best way to make "green" hydrogen is to using high temperature electrolysis with nuclear power. If you want to combine this with wind and solar, then the nuclear power (heat and electricity) can be used to provide hydrogen when there is sufficient wind and/or solar power to provide the base load. Otherwise, the nuclear plant can provide some of the base electric load.
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/01/20210118-shearwater.html
I believe that there are only a few places in the world where there is a true possible excess of renewable power and they are where there is a large amount of hydro power. Iceland is probably the prime example but they may be using most of the power to make aluminum. Maybe Norway and Quebec, Canada but in the case of Quebec, they may be able to ship the power south to New York.
Posted by: sd | 22 March 2021 at 08:21 AM
Hi sd.
I am all for nuclear, especially the coming 4th gen ones, and look forward to its taking much of the load which would otherwise have to be covered by renewables - I think they integrate well.
There are however quite a few places where renewables can be produced in excess, cheaply enough so that shipping them to less sun and wind endowed regions looks like being economic.
There are several mentioned in this report of using ammonia as a carrier:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/880826/HS420_-_Ecuity_-_Ammonia_to_Green_Hydrogen.pdf
Amongst them are Saudi Arabia, other places in the Gulf, several sites in Australia, Brazil, Chile, and places in the US.
I am starting to wonder if when the 4th gen reactors are up and running, whether heat from those could be used to increase the efficiency of electrolysis of renewables resources, as well of course as using the nuclear energy for electrolysis itself when it is in surplus.
I have not yet seem any studies in using nuclear heat in this way.
Posted by: Davemart | 23 March 2021 at 06:03 AM
Heat from combined cycle power plants for SOEC synthetic fuels.
Posted by: SJC | 24 March 2021 at 12:26 AM