French technology firm Haffner Energy will reserve capacity for 12 biomass-to-hydrogen systems that could be deployed for mobility and power projects in three western US states.
The €100,000 ($116,000) reservation from Californian bio-methanol start-up OroCarbo could see Haffner’s Synoca C-iC units installed at wider energy hubs in California, Oregon, and Washington, after pivoting away from a centralised project.
The units, which are yet to see commercial deployment, are designed to produce up to 40.8MWh of hydrogen-rich syngas through a high-temperature thermolysis and steam biomass reforming process.
While details remain thin, OroCarbo’s projects plan to use local forestry and agricultural biomass residues to produce low-carbon fuels and materials.
OroCarbo said it will use hydrogen for mobility and power applications where grid capacity and consistency are limited.
At a contractual price of €2.5m ($2.9m) per unit, subject to delivery, the reservation could raise Haffner a total of €30m ($35m).
It comes after Haffner and OroCarbo announced a collaboration on a 100 tonne-per-day biomethanol project in California, which was “put on hold” due to a lack of long-term offtakers.
Haffner said Orocarbon had “broadened its development strategy” to address “different local energy needs.”
“Its reservation of 12 C-iC units reflects this transition from a single project to a multi-project, multi-site approach,” it said.
The reservation is part of Haffner’s Core100 scheme, which allows customers to reserve production slots for up to 100 units manufactured between March 2027 and 2030.
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