Mining Weekly (Miningweekly. com), Johannesburg, South Africa; The three letters PEM (proton exchange membrane) are written on the American green hydrogen company Plug Power, which symbolizes the green hydrogen and fuel cell solution using platinum. The company is moving towards a field with a potential annual output value of 10 trillion dollars.
Prague Power's PEM electrolyzer solution uses renewable electricity and water to produce carbon free green hydrogen, and PEM fuel cells are powering the cleanest electricity movement.
Prague Power began to load fuel cells into forklifts 15 years ago. Now it has developed into providing green hydrogen fuel, building green hydrogen refueling stations, providing post market services, and understanding the importance of green hydrogen ecosystems. Although the mobility of battery electric vehicles accounts for most of the headlines, green hydrogen solutions are providing emission free mobility for more and more commercial applications.
Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug
Hydrogen is indeed a Swiss military knife for energy transformation, which was emphasized by Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug, at the Green Hydrogen Seminar of American companies reported by Mining Weekly.
Marsh quoted Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs as saying that hydrogen is providing 20% of the world's energy. He added: "This may be an opportunity of 10 trillion dollars a year -- it is huge."
Sanjay Shrestha, Plug Chief Strategy Officer
Sanjay Shrestha, the chief strategic officer of Prague Power, emphasized the role of making green hydrogen economic, easy and universal, because the new US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a change in the rules of the game for green hydrogen power generation. The bill provides financial incentives for enterprises to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and develop new forms of energy.
Shrestha said: "What the bill does is to make green hydrogen economical compared with every form of gray hydrogen on the market. Prague Power is studying large-scale integrated renewable energy and green hydrogen plants, whose capacity will reach the level of 1000 tons of green hydrogen per day. It is also working with several partners to propose to build a special green hydrogen pipeline and long-term green hydrogen storage. If you really consider a long With dedicated hydrogen pipelines and super large hydrogen stations, you will be able to transfer low-cost renewable energy from the power generation point to the demand center. This will help stabilize the power grid, and then suddenly you will see that hydrogen becomes a solution, not only to decarbonize transport or industrial applications, but also to decarbonize our power grid when we think about the entire climate solution. "
In 2023, Prague Power's commercial fuel and cryogenic equipment business will generate revenue of about $285 million, which is expected to be close to $4 billion by 2030.
"However, I think this is the best part. Based on the construction of green hydrogen plants that we are working on, even if there are some existing industrial gas contracts, we expect that our fuel business will achieve an operating balance when we exit in 2023. This has been a long time for us, but we believe that this will happen when we leave in 2023, which will be a big change. Finally, in the overall number In words, the gross profit margin of our commercial fuel and low-temperature business in 2023 will reach about 20%. But as we continue to bring these plants online, this number will far exceed 30%. "Shrestha added.
Production tax relief
The production tax credit (PTC) in the United States is improving the total cost of fixed and mobile power supplies. It is expected that the demand for green hydrogen will be much greater than originally envisaged, thereby improving the return on investment of the plant.
The rate of return on investment of the first batch of plants of Prague Power is 8-12 years, but with the passing of PTC for green hydrogen, the rate of return on investment will increase by at least 4-5 years, and capital formation will change significantly. Like the solar energy and wind energy industries, it is common that the equity capital of the funded projects is 20% now.
Prague Power has always funded the project with 100% of its own equity capital, but with the emergence of PTC, the proportion is expected to drop to 40%, then to 30%, and finally to 20%, which is the model of the solar and wind energy industry.
Shrestha said, "Therefore, the capital we allocate to building a green hydrogen network may be used to do four to five times more things than we talked about before."
Liquefied green hydrogen
By reducing transport costs and the storage footprint of point of use facilities, liquefied green hydrogen is destined to play a key role in molecular storage and transport.
Prague Power is expected to produce 200 tons of green hydrogen every day by the end of 2023. Considering that the new plant built in New York contributes 75 tons/day, its Texas plant contributes 45 tons/day, Georgia plant increases t/d from 15 tons to 45 tons, and Tennessee plant increases t/d from 15 tons to 25 tons.
Prague Power also hopes to have a power generation capacity of 100 tons/day in Europe by 2026 and 1000 tons/day by 2028.
Shrestha commented: "When you think of this factory in New York, it will remind you of the industrial revolution. When we light up Buffalo and turn kerosene into electricity, this is what we are trying to do here. From diesel to green hydrogen, we will again use the hydropower of Niagara Falls in about 100 years."
Ole Hoefelmann, Prague Power's GM electrolyzer solution, explained how the company owns what is known as the world's best PEM electrolyzer stack, and demonstrated 1 MW, 5 MW and 10 MW arrays. The development and infrastructure that Plug has implemented in the past few months has enabled the company to use the skill set acquired last year to deliver these electrolytic stacks globally. It has the ability to build 1MW solutions around the world, and has also built 5MW closed systems to deliver to customer sites in Egypt.
Hoefelmann said, "In order for us to be super successful, we need a network of manufacturers that can manufacture electrolytic cells around the world."
The electrolyzer is located on a platform that can be tilted 15 degrees to 18 degrees and resistant to elements. In cooperation with French partner Lhyfe, the company has created a platform type electrolytic cell, which is located in the center of the ocean and connected to the wind farm. Green hydrogen and energy produced at sea are transported to shore in hydrogen.
Prague Power has a 1.5 GW backlog in different markets, enabling it to expand its solutions faster. In Texas, a 120 megawatt facility is being built with partners to use green hydrogen for industrial applications.
Hoefelmann added: "We are developing very fast, and our customers and partners are as pioneering as us."
About Prague Power's $25 billion electrolyzer sales funnel, half of which involves green ammonia, and other solutions focus on methanol and fuel. Plug has strong ambitions for the electrolytic cell business. Its goal in 2026 is to achieve an income of nearly 1.45 billion dollars, with an installed capacity slightly higher than 3.5 gigawatts. Its goal in 2030 is to achieve an installed capacity of 20 gigawatts, with an income goal of 7.3 billion dollars. The reference plant design is built around the PEM electrolyzer of Prague Power. The design releases multiple advantages by integrating modular technology and optimizing plant balance through standardization and centralization.
Prague Power describes itself as the leader of PEM electrolytic cell technology, and its partner McDermott is a leader in hydrogen storage and transportation, and can choose to produce liquefied green hydrogen.
