SCS Energy has reached a deal with BP and Rio Tinto to buy Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) and to take the project through the permitting and construction phases to operation. SCS says that it intends to modify the project in order to add polygeneration capabilities.
The deal leaves BP with just one hydrogen power project under development – a 400MW plant in Abu Dhabi that it is developing in conjunction with Masdar. The 400MW HECA project will gasify petroleum coke into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The deal leaves BP with just one hydrogen power project under development – a 400MW plant in Abu Dhabi that it is developing in conjunction with Masdar. The 400MW HECA project will gasify petroleum coke into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The hydrogen will be used to generate electricity while the CO2 will be captured and used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). SCS Energy is now proposing to modify the project into a polygeneration plant, producing urea as well as electricity. Around 90% of the CO2 generated by the plant will be captured and sequestered in EOR operations.
The SCS deal comes after BP and Rio Tinto began discussions earlier this year with the US Department of Energy (DOE) over how best to sustain the project upon their exit. They had each invested USD 55 million in the project, while the DOE had invested USD 54 million under a financial assistance agreement.
DOE is working with BP, Rio Tinto and SCS Energy to build on this investment and ensure HECA can access the remaining USD 354 million in financial assistance under HECA’s Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI-3) award.