ACES Delta Hub

Green Hydrogen Hub Project in Utah Secures DOE Loan Guarantee

The Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES Delta Hub) project in Delta, Utah, is a utility-scale solution. It will be an industrial green hydrogen production and storage facility, converting through electrolysis more than 220 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy daily to 100 metric tons of green hydrogen that will be stored in two salt caverns. Black & Veatch is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the project.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) provides low-cost financing opportunities for the commercialization of clean energy technologies that reduce, avoid or sequester greenhouse gas emissions. The ACES Delta Hub project received a full loan guarantee of $504 million through the LPO, becoming the first clean energy project to do so in more than a decade. Innovative clean energy projects such as ACES Delta Hub, require strong technical due diligence to prove viability and mitigate risks associated with novel technologies. Black & Veatch’s technical expertise and experience taking and mitigating new technology risk played a key role in the successful DOE LPO loan application. Black & Veatch was designated as the lead entity for the EPC execution phase, which required all major equipment be assigned to that global infrastructure solutions leader.

While the technologies employed on the project (electrolysis, AC-to-DC power conversion) are not new, design and construction of a project of this size and scale are unprecedented in the hydrogen sector. Black & Veatch worked very closely with owner Magnum Development and co-owner and OEM equipment supplier Mitsubishi Power Americas to ensure design integration for the individual pieces of equipment. By packaging the major equipment into the agreement, Black & Veatch inspired confidence, mitigated risk and ensured the loan guarantee.

Black & Veatch, in conjunction with the owner, worked with the Center for Hydrogen Safety and federal, state and local agencies to forge a path for building permit approval of this utility-scale facility. By establishing new standards for design and safety where they didn’t exist before, Black & Veatch helped set the stage for future phases at the ACES Delta Hub and eventual development in the industry throughout the United States.

Black & Veatch helps clients across all industries assess new technology offerings to ensure technical and commercial viability. Its experts support the entire project lifecycle – from planning and environmental to EPC.