The capacity reservation agreement positions Nel as the US start-up’s exclusive electrolyser partner for phase one of the project, which Hy Stor says is the largest off-grid green hydrogen project in the US.
This means that it would only use power directly supplied by the project’s wind turbines and solar panels, while tens of thousands of tonnes of H2 will be stored in up to ten salt caverns across the Southern US state to enable a constant supply of renewable hydrogen to proposed offtaker SSAB, for the production of green steel, and other potential buyers.
Hy Stor had applied for up to $1.2bn of funding for MCHH under the US government’s $7bn Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs scheme, but was not one of the seven projects selected.
However, it is moving forward with the project regardless, and in December it signed a front-end engineering design on the project with Nel.
“Without ambitious pioneers, decarbonisation at scale will not happen. Pioneers aim to do today what most people say can’t be done in years. To me, Hy Stor Energy is such a bold pioneer, and it makes me proud that the company has chosen Nel as its electrolyser partner on this game-changing project,” said Nel CEO Håkon Volldal.
Hy Stor founder and CEO Laura Luce added: “Nel Hydrogen has proven electrolyser technologies and an automated manufacturing capability that fit perfectly with Hy Stor Energy’s plans to produce and deliver green hydrogen reliably and cost-effectively.”
Nel is planning to build a 4GW electrolyser factory in Michigan, but says Hy Stor would receive “electrodes” produced at its existing 500MW factory in Herøya, Norway, between 2025 and “the first part of 2027”.
That factory is now being expanded and will be running at an annual manufacturing capacity of 1GW in June this year.
(Copyright)
