SGH2 Energy Global Corporation’s carbon-negative hydrogen production facility recently cleared its final hurdle when the City of Lancaster Planning Commission approved the company’s use permit (CUP) and environmental impact statement (CEQA).
The approval greenlights the full investment decision (FID) and EPC phase of the project, the company said in a news release.
“This is a major milestone for SGH2, the City of Lancaster and the world,” said SGH2 CEO Robert T. Do. “Not only are we producing more hydrogen with a larger negative carbon footprint than other proposed green hydrogen projects, but we have now cleared a steep hurdle that no other large-scale green hydrogen company has achieved.”
“Our facility has a low environmental footprint with minimal polluting emissions or effluents and meets all California’s strict state and local environmental and safety standards. All the carbon-negative clean hydrogen we produce has long-term off-take agreements and will supply hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) in the Los Angeles metropolitan areas while simultaneously supporting the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) and the Air Resources Board’s (CARB) goal of decarbonizing our heavy mobility footprint,” Do said.
“Lancaster is proud to be home to this ground-breaking project,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “SGH2 is a proven innovator in green hydrogen technology and now has the green light to begin engineering and construction. We are excited to see this cutting-edge project break ground in the U.S.’s first hydrogen city.”
The plant will feature SGH2’s pioneering Solena Plasma Enhanced Gasification (SPEG) technology, which converts rejected recycled mixed-paper waste to clean hydrogen that is carbon negative. This conversion process reduces carbon emissions by two-to-three times more than green hydrogen produced using electrolysis and renewable energy. SGH2’s clean hydrogen will be cheaper than hydrogen produced from natural gas, which comprises the majority of hydrogen currently used in the world. The SGH2 Lancaster plant will produce up to 12,000 kilograms (1,380 MMBtu) of clean hydrogen per day, and 4.5 million kilograms per year (517,000 MMBtu) from the conversion of 42,000 tons per year of rejected recycled mixed-paper waste. The hydrogen produced at the Lancaster facility will be capable of fueling more than 2,000 fuel cell electric cars or 350 fuel cell buses or trucks per day.
With the CEQA and CUP approvals in hand, the SGH2 Lancaster plant will be eligible to receive its $3m grant awarded by the CEC to support hydrogen mobility in the state. SGH2’s hydrogen also meets the requirements in Section 45V of the Inflation Reduction Act clean hydrogen production tax credit, which provides up to $3 per kilogram of renewable hydrogen.
SGH2 Energy Global Corporation is part of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), California’s public-private effort to create a sustainable statewide clean hydrogen hub. Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a funding opportunity announcement, making $8bn in funding available for 6-10 hydrogen hub proposals. ARCHES received an official encouragement from the DOE to submit a full application, which is due on April 7, 2023.
