Hydro, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 6, 2021

New Mexico Gas Co Partners to Build Clean Hydrogen Hub

BayoTech, Inc., a hydrogen distributor, announced an agreement with New Mexico Gas Company to deploy a new hydrogen production facility in Albuquerque. The BayoTech-owned BayoGaaS™ Hydrogen Hub will be located on New Mexico Gas Company property and provide hydrogen to support the utility's decarbonization goals.

"Hydrogen provides us with an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we're invested in exploring its potential," said Gerald Weseen, vice president, regulatory, strategy & external affairs at New Mexico Gas Company in a statement. "We're proud to partner with BayoTech in deploying their made-in-New Mexico technology to fuel our hydrogen blending project."

Hydrogen produced at the hub will be used by New Mexico Gas in a pilot project to demonstrate the safe and effective blending of hydrogen into the company's natural gas distribution system. Hydrogen can be injected into natural gas pipelines and the blend can then be used by conventional end-users of natural gas for power, heat, and cooking. Because combustion of hydrogen emits only water, blending hydrogen with natural gas reduces the greenhouse gas intensity of the natural gas stream.

The low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen produced at the BayoGaaS™ Hydrogen Hub will also be available for other local customers, including retail hydrogen refueling stations and operators of fuel cell fleet vehicles and backup power systems.

The Albuquerque hydrogen hub is the first in a planned network of distributed hydrogen production hubs throughout the U.S. and the U.K. that will offer locally produced hydrogen on a 'gas-as-a-service' basis. Most hydrogen is produced at a few centralized production plants for supply directly to refiners and chemical manufacturers and must be liquified and trucked long distances, increasing its cost and carbon footprint.

BayoTech's patented hydrogen production technology uses 20-30% less energy, saving money and reducing the product's carbon footprint. From these production hubs, locally produced hydrogen is delivered via BayoTech's high-pressure gas transport and storage equipment, which can hold three times more hydrogen per trip than traditional equipment. The higher payloads translate into lower transportation costs, higher driver productivity, and avoided carbon emissions. 

The site is anticipated to become operational in mid-2022. This unit will produce up to 1,000 kilograms per day of high-purity hydrogen, enough to fill as many as 200 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. When using hydrogen produced from natural gas, fuel cell vehicles have 40% lower well-to-wheels greenhouse gas emissions than that of current gasoline-powered vehicles.