U.S. Energy Department Announces $504 Million Loan Guarantee for Largest Hydrogen Storage Facility

The U.S. Energy Department announced the closing of a $504.4 million loan guarantee for a hydrogen storage project to be developed by Mitsubishi Power Americas and Magnum Development in Utah. The loan will be utilized to develop the largest clean hydrogen storage facility in the world. This marks the department’s first loan guarantee for a clean energy project in about a decade. The project – Advanced Clean Energy Storage Hub – is expected to enhance the employment ratio in the region of Utah by creating 400 jobs in construction and 25 in operations. Long duration energy storage technologies are expected to play a key role in meeting the Biden administration’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Mitsubishi will build the facility, which would have the ability to produce up to 100 metric tonnes per day of green hydrogen from electrolysis using renewable energy sources. The produced hydrogen will be then stored in two geological  salt caverns, which can store 150 gigawatt hours of energy each.  The facility will support Intermountain Power Agency’s IPP Renewed project, an upgrade to the company’s 840-megawatt hydrogen-capable gas turbine power plant. Initially a blend of 30-70 percent of hydrogen-natural gas will be utilized to generate energy with plans  to gradually convert it into a 100 percent green hydrogen power plant by 2045.

In 2020, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems announced a contract with Utah’s Intermountain Power Agency for the first advanced class gas turbines designed to facilitate the transition of a power plant in central Utah from coal, to natural gas and ultimately to renewable hydrogen fuel.

After the closure of this loan, the Loan Program Office is left with $2.5 billion to support projects through theInnovative Clean Energy program. As of the end of May, the office has attracted 70 active applications for projects in 24 states which sums up to $79 billion in requested loans and loan guarantees.