Gulf Coast to be the center of the world’s new hydrogen
economy
![](images/images_05_04_2023/pic3.jpg)
Hy Stor Energy CEO Laura Luce at the grand
opening of the Nel Electrolyzer facility in Norway last year. Nel is
expanding their automated manufacturing in the US is a preferred
partner of Hy Stor Energy.
Courtesy: Hy Stor
Hydrogen has a lot of advantages as a green fuel
alternative. When burned, it doesn’t create the greenhouse gas
carbon dioxide associated with gasoline, oil, natural gas and
propane emissions. It is much lighter than fossil fuels and doesn’t
create harmful pollution. But, until recently, hydrogen fuel has not
been price competitive with fossil fuels.
Now hydrogen is taking a giant step towards prime
time with an agreement between Hy Stor Energy, LP, and the Hancock
County Port and Harbor Commission (HCPHC) to provide hydrogen fuel
to the Port Bienville Industrial Park, the Port of Gulfport and
Stennis International Airport. The first phase of the project has a
goal of producing 350 tons per day with 71,000 tons of hydrogen
being stored in underground salt caverns.
“Hancock Port and Harbor strives to grow our
maritime, rail and aerospace industries in the region, and hydrogen
provides options to fuel growth and innovation at a time when our
existing energy capacity is strained but demand is growing,” said
Blaine LaFontaine, executive director, HCPHC. “Hancock County Port
and Harbor Commission is committed to growing those economic
opportunities in a responsible way. Our customers and new industries
are demanding to meet their respective environmental and social
governance (ESG) goals and create new industry jobs – strengthening
the port’s position as a workforce hub of industry, energy and
technology.”
Laura Luce, CEO of Hy Stor Energy, said it is a
groundbreaking change.
“Hydrogen bridges the gap to enable a 24/7
zero-carbon energy system by converting intermittent electrons to
molecules that can be transported and stored,” Luce said. “We will
provide zero-carbon, zero-methane energy that is available when
whenever needed dispatchable on demand, including when the wind
doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine, and for long durations not
yet solved by battery technologies.”
Luce said the planned Mississippi Clean Hydrogen Hub
is up to 10 times larger than any other green hydrogen project under
consideration in the U.S.
Luce said Mississippi has the 10th best solar energy
capacity in the country, and the Mississippi River has some of the
strongest wind resources. Those alternative energy sources will be
used to convert water to hydrogen that will be stored in underground
salt domes until needed as fuel.
“Hydrogen is quite a diverse fuel,” said Luce, who
formerly worked in the natural gas business.
“Hydrogen can solve some of the greatest energy
challenges which including decarbonizing energy-intensive industries
such as steel and agri-nutrients, and long-duration seasonal clean
energy storage. It allows people to have zero carbon and zero
methane sources of energy. The reason hydrogen can be developed at
scale now is a precipitous drop in the cost of renewable energy.
Costs have dropped ten-fold in the past few years. Now hydrogen can
follow that same cost decline. For the first time, hydrogen will
allow us to use renewables on a 24/7 basis.”
Salt dome storage of hydrogen also avoids the
problems associated with battery storage of electricity from
renewable sources including limited battery storage capacity, the
high cost of lithium and pollution associated with lithium mining.
Luce said another advantage is not being dependent on
foreign sources of lithium and of oil, gasoline and natural gas, or
even on domestic fossil fuels shipped across the country in trains,
tanker trucks or pipelines. It takes less energy to transport
hydrogen because it is eight times lighter than natural gas, 22
times lighter than propane and 57 times lighter than gasoline vapor.
Luce said development of hydrogen as a fuel also
improves energy security by reducing reliance on foreign sources of
energy and even domestic sources when there are severe weather
events such as abnormal heat or cold and hurricanes. And hydrogen
can be used anywhere from a home level — some off-grid homes in
Australia are powered by hydrogen fuel — to a major steel mill. Luce
said replacing the coal used to make steel with hydrogen would
create huge environmental benefits.
Heavy duty trucks that transport goods from the Port
of Gulfport to end destinations are loud and create pollution in
heavily populated neighborhoods. Luce said the hydrogen fueled
trucks that will be used at the Port of Gulfport will be quiet and
pollution free, removing diesel emissions linked to respiratory and
heart disease. There are currently $40,000 subsidies from the
government for alternative vehicles that use hydrogen or fuel cells.
“There are some really wonderful large corporations
in Mississippi that are committed to us to convert trucks coming in
and out of Gulfport to run on hydrogen,” Luce said. “I expect
hydrogen fuel development to change the movement of goods and
services into and out of the port. It is going to allow the entire
community and shipping corridors to have zero carbon and methane
emissions from transportation.”
There has been pushback in some areas of the country
against large solar and wind facilities in heavily populated
residential areas and in scenic areas. A lot of industrial areas
already have a lot of infrastructure. “Why not use the
infrastructure in areas that are heavily industrial to advance
hydrogen, solar, and wind?” Luce asks.
Luce said they are also working with Keesler Air
Force Base and railroads in the area regarding the use of hydrogen
fuel.
Anything combustible can be a safety hazard, and has
to be used safely. But Luce said hydrogen has some advantages in
that it dissipates at 10 times the speed of natural gas, and 100
times the rate of propane.
“We have to be mindful of safety issues, but on a
scale of other fuels, hydrogen really stands up,” she said. “It is
no more dangerous than other sources of power. If we are going to
use energy and electricity, we have to take care.”
While hydrogen is not yet extremely well known as an
energy source, Luce points out that the technology has been around
for a long time including on submarines in World War II. Now she
sees hydrogen being scaled up to address some of the world’s most
pressing problems with pollution trapping gases causing climate
disruption and illnesses.
The Richton Dome in Perry County will have the
ability to serve as a Strategic Hydrogen Reserve connected to new,
dedicated, dual bi-directional pipelines that will extend from
Richton in Perry County 100 miles to the Port of Bienville in
Hancock County. Plans call for the hydrogen storage salt domes in
Richton to be interconnected to new pipeline infrastructure and will
further connect multiple salt domes from Louisiana to Jackson.
Hy Stor Energy is working with Connor, Clark & Lunn
Infrastructure, a firm with a history of investing in and owning
renewable energy projects. For more information about Hy Stor
Energy, please visit www.hystorenergy.com.
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