Enel and NextChem sign MoU for new green hydrogen plant in the US

Enel, with a track record of project commercialisation, extensive development pipeline and large renewable operations footprint in the US, will leverage NextChem’s hydrogen technology and engineering expertise to grow its green hydrogen business in the US. The project, which is expected to be operational in 2023, will convert renewable energy from one of EGPNA’s solar plants in the US into green hydrogen to be supplied to a bio-refinery.

Under the agreement, NextChem will act as technology and engineering partner and full turnkey EPC contractor, providing Enel with the necessary technical assistance in relation to the development and implementation of the project.

Enel is actively evaluating opportunities to co-locate electrolysers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, across its development pipeline in the US. By combining two or more technologies, such as solar and an electrolyser, Enel is able to create an integrated plant that can leverage on more sources of revenue and/or generate further risk mitigation options. In the US, the company is focused on states with an existing operational presence, such as Texas, Utah and North Dakota.

This agreement represents the first application of a Framework Cooperation Agreement between Enel and NextChem to evaluate the implementation of joint projects, including the testing of advanced technologies to increase efficiency in the production of green hydrogen using renewables.

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. has experience in petrochemicals and downstream projects, with more than 100 projects on hydrogen production. NextChem is its dedicated company operating in the energy transition with a focus on deploying solutions in carbon footprint reduction, in hydrogen production – green, blue and ‘circular’ (obtained by waste conversion) –, purification and storage, in plastics recycling, in the biofuels and in biochemicals. In the last few months of 2020, NextChem has enriched its technological portfolio for the energy transition in the area of biofuels with technologies for the production of renewable diesel, of Ethanol2G from cellulosic biomass and of bioEthanol from syngas fermentation. In the area of circular economy, NextChem is actively developing the market for its proprietary Upcycling technology MyReplastTM and for waste to chemicals solutions.

Enel is developing projects in the green hydrogen segment in Italy, Spain, Chile and the US. As green hydrogen is a new business application, the Enel is monitoring the relevant market developments to identify the most efficient way to achieve its plans to grow its green hydrogen capacity to over 2 GW by 2030. In North America, Enel is an owner and operator of renewable energy plants, with a presence in 18 US states and one Canadian province. The company operates around 70 plants with a managed capacity of over 6 GW.

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