The State of West Virginia is backing the construction of a coal and biomass-based hydrogen production and carbon capture facility.
Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) announced its subsidiary Maintaineer C2H had signed a funding agreement of up to $10m from West Virginia’s Department of Economic Development to develop the facility using its BrightLoop™ technology.
Planned for Mason County, B&W plans to use its chemical looping technology that can break down feedstocks such as coal and biomass into hydrogen and CO2, with the CO2 being isolated for storage.
The technology uses the firm’s iron-oxide TranspO2rt™ particle and produces hydrogen “more efficiently, at a lower cost per kilogramme and with a wider range of fuels than other technologies.”
A B&W spokesperson told H2 View, “We anticipate the facility will be capable of producing 15-20 metric tonnes of low-carbon intensity hydrogen…CO2 from the chemical looping process will be captured and sequestered or used beneficially.”
“We’re excited to begin development of this project in West Virginia as we pursue additional financing and equity partners to complete this project,” said B&W’s Chief Operating Officer, Jimmy Morgan.
“The clean hydrogen generated by this project could be used in a variety of purposes, including power generation and industrial applications.”
The funding will be provided in phases upon project milestones being achieved, however, B&W will need to complete the plant by 2030 and deliver 28 full-time, high-paying jobs to secure the grant.
West Virginia Governor, Jim Justice, said the project was a “tremendous win” for the state.
It comes after B&W and Black Hills Energy secured a $16m grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority to develop a coal-to-hydrogen project at Black Hills’ power plant in Gillette.
Read more:Wyoming awards $16m grant for coal-to-hydrogen and CCS project
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