Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. has selected Emerson (EMR) to automate the green hydrogen production and storage facility. The industry-leading hub will help integrate renewable energy by producing and storing green hydrogen for long-duration energy storage. Mitsubishi Power will leverage Emerson’s hydrogen production experience and automation software expertise to increase safety, decrease costs and simplify maintenance across the life cycle of the facility.
Excess renewable energy generated during the winter and spring is difficult and costly to store in its native state for use during the peak summer season and, as a result, is wasted. The Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub will use renewable electricity to power electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen. The produced hydrogen will be stored underground in salt caverns so that it can be dispatched when required to generate clean electricity from hydrogen-fueled turbines, which will help stabilize the grid with sustainable sources and create a new pathway to decarbonization of the western United States.
The Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub will convert renewable energy through the 220-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer bank to produce up to 100 tons of green hydrogen per day. The facility will have storage for 300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy in two salt caverns. In comparison, the battery storage capacity across the United States is 2-GWh via lithium-ion batteries. The Advanced Clean Energy Storage hub has space for up to 100 caverns.