LADWP joins HyDeal LA, targets green hydrogen at $1.50/kg by 2030
18 May 2021
The Green Hydrogen Coalition, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and other key partners, launched HyDeal LA, an initiative to achieve at-scale green hydrogen procurement at $1.50/kilogram in the Los Angeles Basin by 2030.
HyDeal LA is a collaboration of developers, green hydrogen off-takers, integrators, equipment manufacturers, investors, and advisors coalescing to overcome the biggest barrier to the green hydrogen economy—its high cost—by launching a commercial green hydrogen cluster at scale.
When used as an alternative to fossil fuels, green hydrogen can enable deep decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, enable the repurposing of valuable existing infrastructure and support an affordable, responsible energy transition. Benefits to the economy include stable pricing, energy diversity, and increased economic development by reducing our need to import fossil fuels. Green hydrogen can be used to power anything from a power plant, to a steel mill, to a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
Independent studies, including the recently completed Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study, point to the need for renewably fueled combustion turbines—available for limited periods—to achieve reliable 100% renewable electricity.
Green hydrogen is the key to reliably achieving 100% renewable energy. We are pleased to join the HyDeal LA effort, which includes an innovative and expanding vendor and development community, to support and help catalyze the supply chain needed to achieve large-scale, low-cost green hydrogen power supply for our local in basin plants.
—Martin Adams, General Manager and Chief Engineer at LADWP
Joining HyDeal LA marks another significant initiative around green hydrogen for LADWP, which is leading the conversion of the Intermountain Power Project in Delta, Utah to the world’s first gas turbine intentionally designed and built to operate on 100% carbon free green hydrogen.
HyDeal LA is part of HyDeal North America, a commercialization platform launched by the Green Hydrogen Coalition, which is dedicated to deploying green hydrogen at scale for multi-sectoral decarbonization. HyDeal LA is modeled after HyDeal Ambition, a similar project in Europe committed to producing and purchasing 3.6 million tons of green hydrogen per year for the energy, industry, and mobility sectors at €1.5/kg before 2030.
In addition to LADWP, HyDeal LA leaders include 174 Power Global, Mitsubishi Power, and SoCalGas. Key implementation partners include Clifford Chance, Corporate Value Associates (CVA), Cranmore Partners, Energeia, Marathon Capital, Sheppard Mullin, and Strategen.
Phase 1 of HyDeal LA will architect the high-value competitive supply chain necessary to achieve $1.50/kg delivered green hydrogen in the LA Basin, and achieve in-principle agreement on the necessary terms and conditions to achieve production, storage, transport and delivery of green hydrogen at scale.
Hydrogen will play an important part in helping SoCalGas reach our goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045, in keeping utility bills affordable for families and businesses, and in keeping energy reliable and resilient as we make the transition.
—cott Drury, SoCalGas CEO
This is $0.045/kwh, game changing combined with new EV locomotives.
Low cost H2 REX EV's could challenge pure EV's cost per mile, but always be more expensive not counting range. Very high power capacity batteries with long cycle life could change the optimum balance of batteries versus H2.
But can HyDeal deliver?
Posted by: GdB | 18 May 2021 at 12:29 PM
Great news, and confirmation of almost the H2 same cost per kg as the Colorado Hydrogen Network is predicting here.
Even when retail distribution costs and profit are added, this is competitive with and most likely cheaper than gasoline or diesel fuels, which have approximately the same energy content per gallon as H2 per kg.
Lower cost per mile when the higher efficiency of a fuel cell is considered, and H2 at this price could make synfuels for continued operation of the legacy ICE fleet economically viable and zero carbon at the same time.
Posted by: Milburnski | 18 May 2021 at 03:47 PM
They do not have much in the way of details on how they plan to make the hydrogen but from some of their graphics, it seems that they are going to use wind or solar and electrolysis. If I was given the task of designing this, I would probably do what Shearwater Energy in the UK is proposing -- use a small modular nuclear plant coupled with the wind turbines and/or solar. When the wind is blowing of the sun is shining, use the nuclear power plant for higher efficiency high temperature electrolysis and use the wind turbines, etc to provide the base load. If the wind is not providing sufficient power, use the nuclear plant for the base load. You could also use methane pyrolysis which produces hydrogen and solid carbon. Maybe this is not truly green but there is no carbon dioxide. Use the solid carbon to backfill the existing coal mines or whatever.
I did see that they plan to convert the coal fired Intermountain Power Plant near Delta, Utah to a combined cycle gas turbine that will initially burn 30 % hydrogen 70 natural gas. This is a good thing as I live downwind of this facility when the wind is blowing from the south and I do not think that Utah should subject to LA's outsourced pollution. This would be a good place to put in a combined cycle nuclear plant.
Posted by: sd | 18 May 2021 at 08:10 PM
The fall in prices is projected on the basis primarily of three factors, falling renewables costs, falling electrolyser costs and increased volumes leading to economies of scale, which also is very important for delivery costs.
The cost projections from these sorts of causes are relatively predictable and calculable.
When breakthroughs are relied on, life is much less certain.
So for instance a fall in battery prices to around $100KWh at the pack level is predictable, but falls to the $50-60KWh needed to be competitive with ICE for cheaper cars rely on breakthroughs in chemistry and are not the certainty advocates tout and on the basis of which huge subsidies benefitting the more well off have been instituted.
No doubt battery prices will get there eventually, but it could be ages of sucking up money.
Posted by: Davemart | 19 May 2021 at 12:35 AM