Woodside Energy has awarded Norway’s Nel Hydrogen Electrolyzer a $90 million contract to supply alkaline hydrolyzers for the initial stage of its H2OK project in Oklahoma, its first green hydrogen project globally and one of the earliest “green” hydrogen projects to get under way in the United States.
The commitment comes just a week after clean energy entrepreneur Saul Griffith damned “green” hydrogen as an uneconomical use of cheap solar power.
The initial 290MW electrolysis facility is located in Ardmore, Oklahoma, at the junction of several interstate highways and will target the heavy transport industry which needs a carbon-free substitute for petroleum-based fuels. It could eventually be expanded to 550MW and 180 tons per day of hydrogen production.
The contract is a modest outlay for the oil and gas giant, which is valued at $62.6 billion on the ASX, but it nevertheless represents the second financial commitment to the controversial “green” hydrogen technology in two weeks.
Ten days ago, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, a federal government green bank, committed $13.7 million to a $38 million program outlined by Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group to move its green hydrogen project at Incitec Pivot’s Gibson Island ammonia plant in Brisbane to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) stage – a term used to reflect the final stages of design.
Shaun Gregory, Woodside’s executive vice president for new energy. said the contract award to Nel Hydrogen Electrolyzer was an important step forward for H2OK and pointed to the landmark US Inflation Reduction Act’s support for accelerating the development of green hydrogen, among other clean energy technologies.
Mr Gregory expanded, saying: “The signing of the alkaline electrolyzer contract is progress toward Woodside realizing its ambition to build a New Energy business in the United States. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the drive to accelerate the energy transition in the US is under way, and Woodside aims to be part of that.
“H2OK is strategically located close to national highways and the supply chain infrastructure of major transport companies. That positions H2OK to supply customers with the reliable, affordable and lower-carbon energy they are seeking.”
Nel Hydrogen Electrolyzer is a subsidiary of Nel ASA, a global hydrogen company listed on the Oslo exchange.
Woodside said the proposed site in Ardmore was well located for hydrogen production, with good water and renewable energy resources. It aims to produce liquid hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cell powered commercial and heavy transport vehicles at the site.
Woodside aims to complete the final FEED design stage for H2OK this year and take a final investment decision next year. It is also working on two proposed hydrogen projects in Australia: H2Perth and H2TAS.
Hakon Volldal, Nel’s CEO, said the Norwegian company was proud to work with Woodside, with its “strong track record of developing high-quality assets.”
The electrolyzer stacks will be manufactured at Nel’s factory in Heroya, the world’s only fully automated electrolyser facility. When completed, the electrolyzer plant will have a nameplate capacity of about 64,000 kg per day of hydrogen.
For more information visit www.woodside.com
