America’s energy industry has received a boost since the 2023 relaunch of subsidies for companies that innovate in renewables. One of them just marked a historic milestone by finding a new energy under our soils. It is the most futuristic ever seen, it has a very distinctive color and we are going to produce 3 tons per day in the largest plant in history.
U.S. has discovered a new energy: is underground, but also in the air
The United States has commenced a gradual increase in its activities to manufacture renewable hydrogen as fuel. This push is being done as a part of sustainable development program aimed at shifting from fossil fuels to other sources.
A recent significant event that relates to the establishment of green hydrogen as a source of fuel in North America is the opening of the largest green hydrogen production plant – SoHyCal. SoHyCal is a project for renewable hydrogen situated in Mojave Desert in California, and it is a trailblazer one.
Solar and wind energy are employed to split water and ‘green’ hydrogen used by the plant. With a total nominal capacity of 30 MW, SoHyCal can produce up to 3 tons of hydrogen per day. This makes it the biggest facility of its kind ever to be constructed within the US and it will help to facilitate large-scale production.
SoHyCal plant, at detail: the energy that will revolutionize the industry
The SoHyCal plant is currently situated in Lancaster, California, as a subsidiary of SGH2 Energy. The project is the biggest hydrogen production plant in North America that utilizes green hydrogen, with the potential to produce up to 3 tons of hydrogen each day.
It was designed in collaboration between City of Lancaster, SGH2 Energy, and Fluor Corporation. SGH2 Energy carried out the plant’s design and is now managing its operations, while Fluor is responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction.
The SoHyCal plant is unique as it uses a new method to obtain green hydrogen. This invention harness electricity from solar energy, with an onsite photovoltaic plant at the site generates electricity from solar power. This electricity is used to run electrolyzers which are used to produce hydrogen and oxygen.
A crucial strength of the SoHyCal plant is the modularity of design. It can be assembled by utilizing a number of modularized components that can be integrated to increase hydrogen producing capability. This enables the plant to begin on a small level of 3 tons per day capacity with the potential of planning for future expansion.
New type of hydrogen produced from the water: lakes will be converted into batteries
SoHyCal plant is one of the plants that use the sophisticated water electrolysis process to generate green hydrogen from water. Electrolysis is a process whereby electricity is used to dissociate water into its constituent parts – hydrogen and oxygen.
The electrolysis begins with the removal of mineral from water to make it a pure and de-ionized product. The purified water passes into the electrolyzer that has special membranes and catalysts for the reactions. That is electricity is passed which resulted in the formation of hydrogen and oxygen gas from the water molecules.
The electrolyzer can achieve a rating of greater than 1000 kg/day green hydrogen or 3 t/day. SoHyCal’s hydrogen will be enough to fuel more than 1,500 hydrogen FCEVs per day at this pace. It has permit to upgrade the capacity to 30 tons per day as the need arise.
The search for hydrogen in America will, according to the companies in the sector, give a definitive boost to the renewable energy policies that have been implemented for several years in the country. Moreover, USAID has carried out other projects to help countries as far away as Uzbekistan to extract their own reserves in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
