Chevron, Hyzon, Raven SR to build hydrogen facility for California's mobility market

Chevron is partnering with two clean hydrogen companies to build a commercial facility that will use organic waste to produce green hydrogen for the Northern California mobility market, the companies said Jan. 9.

The partnership involves Raven SR, a Wyoming company that produces hydrogen and renewable synthetic fuels, and Hyzon Motors, a manufacturer of fuel-cell electric vehicles. While Chevron's clean energy subsidiary, Chevron New Energies, will hold a 50% stake in the project, Raven SR will be the facility's operator with a 30% stake, and Hyzon will own the remaining 20% stake.

Beginning the first quarter of 2021, the project is expected to produce 2,400 mt/year of green hydrogen, using nearly 100 wmt/day of organic waste diverted from a landfill in the San Francisco Bay Area. The companies say the waste diversion could avoid up to 7,200 mt/year of CO2 emissions from the landfill, which Republic Services owns.

Raven SR will use the waste feedstock in its "steam/CO2 reformation" process, a waterless non-combustion technology that converts organic waste and landfill gas to hydrogen and synthetic fuels. The reformation process is designed to capture its own emissions and produce fuel with low to negative carbon intensity.

The project will also help the state meet mandates set forth in SB 1383, a 2016 law that aims to reduce organic waste disposal in landfills 75% by 2025. According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, organic waste in landfills is the third-largest source of methane emissions in the state, and organic waste constitutes half of California's landfill volume.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the price of alkaline-based hydrogen in Northern California at $8.58/kg Jan. 6 (including capex), while PEM-based hydrogen was at $10.53/kg.

California's mobility market

Chevron plans to bring its share of the hydrogen produced at the facility to fueling stations in the Bay Area and elsewhere around Northern California. Hyzon will use the hydrogen to refuel trucks through its hydrogen hub in Richmond, California.

"Not only will the greater Richmond community benefit from reduced emissions, investments, and jobs, it will also see economic benefits as local gas stations have a consistent supply of clean, zero-carbon hydrogen fuel for fuel cell vehicles," Raven SR CEO Matt Murdock said in a statement.

According to the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, there are currently around 38 proposed or operating retail hydrogen fuel stations in Northern California, mostly in the Bay Area. As of January, 12 are open, nine are offline, nine are in permitting or proposal stages, two are under construction and five are unavailable for other reasons.

Projections that the California Air Resources Board released last year show that the state expected to have 79 stations by the end of 2022, and nearly 100 stations by the end of 2023. In 2013, the state passed Assembly Bill 8, which aims to build 200 stations for light-duty vehicles by 2026.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership recently stressed the importance of focusing on scaling up hydrogen supply capacity to grow the state's fuel cell electric vehicle economy. Hyzon interim CEO Parker Meeks recognized that need in the Jan. 9 announcement.

"Through Hyzon's partnership with Raven, hydrogen supply can be synchronized with the demand for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles," Meeks said. "Raven's deployment of scalable hydrogen production facilities allows supply and demand to grow together as clean hydrogen for transport continues to gain market and regulatory support."

Other early projects are also addressing California's hydrogen supply needs. In March 2022, Air Products announced a hydrogen production facility in Arizona that will include a liquified green hydrogen export terminal for California's mobility market. The facility is slated to produce 10 mt/day using alkaline electrolyzers that Thyssenkrupp manufactured.

Air Liquide is also bringing online a 30 mt/day green hydrogen plant this year in Nevada, which the company says is a direct response to California's growing demand.