Black & Veatch announced today that it has been selected by Enegix Energy to perform feasibility studies central to the development of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. When operational the Base One facility, in Ceará, Brazil could produce more than 600 million kilogrammes of green hydrogen annually.
The highly ambitious new-build electrolysis facility will be powered entirely by renewable energy, initially 3.4 gigawatts of solar and onshore wind, which is why the hydrogen can be called “green.” Ceará’s potential for renewable energy generation, coupled with access to a strategic deep-sea port to facilitate the export of hydrogen, were key to the choice of the scoped 500-hectare site for the US$ 5.4 billion investment.
Enegix Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Black & Veatch for the delivery of feasibility studies key to advancing the green hydrogen plant’s creation.
“Facilities such as the one proposed by Enegix are at the heart of making hydrogen a core component of a zero-carbon global economy; and our integrated approach places us in a unique position to contribute,” said Gary Martin a Managing Director with Black & Veatch’s Oil & Gas business.
Hydrogen has the potential to reduce and replace reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation and storage, heating, transport, production of green chemicals and fertilizer, according to most experts. Black & Veatch said it is engaged in developing, designing and constructing decarbonization solutions that fulfil these objectives all over the world.
“As well as new-build undertakings like our MoU with Enegix Energy, Black & Veatch’s reputation for execution certainty means we are supporting many projects to adapt existing power and process infrastructure for a role in the hydrogen economy,” Martin added. “In a US first, for example, we are working with Long Ridge Energy Generation to retrofit a 485-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant making it the nation’s first large gas turbine plant to transition operations to hydrogen fuel.”
In January 2021, reflecting its ongoing commitment to decarbonization and further advancing efforts to create a more balanced energy portfolio, Black & Veatch joined the Hydrogen Council – a global initiative of leading energy, transport and industry organizations with a vision for hydrogen’s ability to foster the energy transition.