HIF Global (Houston) and Siemens Energy (Munich) reached an agreement which would allow Siemens Energy to expand its electrolyzer manufacturing capacity beyond its previously announced plans. This agreement will assist HIF Global in obtaining sufficient capacity for the HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility. The electrolyzers will aggregate an expected capacity of approximately 1.8 gigawatts (GW) to support approximately 300,000 tons per year of green hydrogen production.
Cesar Norton, CEO of HIF Global, said, “We face a time of incredible expansion in hydrogen production amid global supply chain challenges. The agreement with Siemens Energy allows for electrolyzer deliveries which could support the start of construction as early as the first part of 2024 for the HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility. We look forward to starting construction at the pioneering Texas green hydrogen and eFuels facility, with Siemens Energy’s industry leading electrolyzer design and manufacturing strength.”
Stefano Innocenzi, SVP, Sustainable Energy Systems of Siemens Energy said, “Hydrogen and powerto-X applications such as eFuels will play a key role in the energy transition. To ramp up this new industry, we need many projects, including large-scale ones, and investors and off-takers who are willing to make a promise for the future. These agreements give us planning certainty, creating the basis for ramping up the technology and the industry as a whole.”
The HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility will be the first world scale eFuels facility, located in Matagorda County, Texas. HIF and Siemens Energy are engaged in front end engineering and design for 1.8 GW of Silyzer 300 polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers that will use renewable energy to separate hydrogen from water, resulting in approximately 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The green hydrogen will be utilized together with recycled carbon dioxide to produce carbon-neutral eFuels, which are chemically equivalent to fuels used today and can therefore be dropped-in to existing engines without any modifications required. The green hydrogen and eFuels produced by the HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility will be able to convert approximately half a million cars to carbon neutral as early as 2027.