A new collaboration between Baker Hughes and Air Products seeks to advance hydrogen compression to lower the cost of production and accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a zero-carbon fuel.
In plans revealed on 9 June, Houston-based Baker Hughes will supply hydrogen compression and gas turbine technology for Pennsylvania-based Air Products' new net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The new complex will capture more than 95% of the carbon dioxide from natural gas feedstock and store it underground by leveraging the 240-kilometre-long Alberta Carbon Trunk Line owned and operated by Wolf Carbon Solutions that is capable of transporting up to 14.6 million tonnes per annum of CO2.
Baker Hughes’ NovaLT16 turbines will be used in producing clean electricity for the entire facility and export to the grid to help offset the remaining CO2 emissions to achieve a net-zero hydrogen facility design, according to Air Products.
“Air Products chose Baker Hughes for its leading-edge compression and gas turbine offerings and robust hydrogen experience,” said Samir Serhan, chief operation officer for Air Products.
“This advanced technology is another key step toward achieving economically viable blue and green hydrogen and net-zero targets.”
Work on the project began in 2018, with the C$1.3 billion (US$1.1 billion) net-zero hydrogen production and liquefaction facility expected onstream in 2024, according to Air Products.
The clean energy complex will help refining and petrochemical customers served by the 55 kilometre-long Air Products Heartland Hydrogen Pipeline reduce their carbon intensity.
“Our transformative hydrogen compression and gas turbine technology lowers the overall production cost for new energy frontiers such as hydrogen and is a strategic enabler for key projects,” said Rod Christie, executive vice president of turbomachinery and process solutions at Baker Hughes.
“Our proven technology is helping to accelerate the hydrogen economy, and our collaboration with Air Products will be critical for a net-zero future.”
Additionally, Baker Hughes will provide advanced compression technology for the NEOM smart city project in Saudi Arabia.
The $5 billion green hydrogen production facility, jointly owned by Air Products, ACWA Power and NEOM, was announced in July 2020.
