FFI steps up plan to turn old coal mine into green hydrogen plant

Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries in partnership with Puget Sound Energy intends to convert an old coal mine in the US into a green hydrogen-making plant in a bid to accelerate a clean energy transition in the North American Pacific Northwest.

FFI earlier this year said it was evaluating the feasibility of transforming the former Centralia coal mine in Washington state – closed in 2006 – into a green hydrogen operation to help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors.

The proposed plant would repurpose existing fossil fuel infrastructure to create green hydrogen, according to FFI.

The US Inflation Reduction Act and Canada’s 2022 Fall Economic Statement make North America one of the best places in the world to invest in green energy, according to FFI North American CEO Andy Vesey.

“This is an important step forward to help utilities such as PSE to decarbonise their operations,” Vesey said in a statement.  “There is significant demand for green hydrogen in North America and FFI is on a mission to meet this demand.” 

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding, FFI and Puget Sound Energy, one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest utilities,  will aim to establish a framework for green hydrogen supply agreements and pursue other joint opportunities.

FFI in September reached a similar agreement to conduct studies into developing green hydrogen production in the Arab Republic of Egypt — specifically a project with a 9.2 gigawatt (GW) installed capacity.

This was preceded in March with FFI reaching a potential $50 billion green hydrogen agreement with German energy giant E.ON to produce up to five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.

We see lower carbon fuels like hydrogen playing a key role in decarbonizing the electric system as well as the piped energy system,” Josh Jacobs, vice president of clean energy strategy at Puget Sound energy said.

“Carbon-free, flexible resources such as hydrogen will be crucial to complement the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like wind and solar,” he said.