A large-scale green hydrogen hub is being planned on the Gulf Coast of Texas, with construction potentially starting in the next couple of years, according to Jeff Pollack, chief strategy and sustainability officer for the Port of Corpus Christi, where the hub would be located.

The port, along with renewable energy company Apex Clean Energy, investor Ares Management Corp and pipeline company Epic Midstream Holdings, recently announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding to explore the development of facilities for green hydrogen production, storage, transportation and export—including a new dedicated pipeline and a green fuels hub.

“We have the chance to do something profound here—we are on the precipice of diversifying global energy commodities,” says Pollack. “It could be built substantially faster than any greenfield project.”

Apex would generate electricity in north Texas from its wind and solar projects to power a 1GW electrolyser. The hydrogen could be used for regional industrial applications such as transport, shipping, fertilisers, chemicals and refining or exported in a form such as ammonia or methanol from Corpus Christi, the US’ main energy port.

500 t/d – Grey hydrogen already produced by port

“This project seeks to generate and deliver green hydrogen and other clean fuels precisely where they are needed most—at the industrial backbone of our nation,” says Apex CEO Mark Goodwin.

Rotterdam would be a likely destination for exports, according to Pollack, who noted the two ports already work closely with each other.  

Initial phases

Corpus Christi and Ares announced a project almost a year ago that would involve about 210MW of solar panels on port property and 840MWh of battery storage, capable of powering an electrolyser facility producing 9,000t/yr of green hydrogen.

The port also already has four tenants that generate about 500t/d of grey hydrogen. The CO₂ is not yet captured, but geological due diligence is under way for the storage portion of a planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) system to turn this grey hydrogen into blue, according to Pollack. Storage would be in a saline aquifer or sand layer underneath the port.

The project will initially be able to store some 1.53mn t/yr of CO₂, says Pollack, though the CCS system will eventually accommodate more than that.

The region has good CCS resources, and any hydrogen production would be well-placed for decarbonising local industry, according to Martin Tengler, chief hydrogen analyst at research firm BloombergNEF.

“It would be exciting to see the project go ahead, but I would not be surprised if it took several years before FID is reached—if it is reached,” he says.

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Author: Ros Davidson