Guidehouse is leading a group of regional and global players to drive hydrogen pilots focused on heavy transport, renewables integration, and industrial applications

Guidehouse, a leading global provider of consulting services to public sector and commercial clients, today announced a new consortium, Building the Clean Hydrogen Economy, which has been working together since fall 2021. Led by Guidehouse, consortium members will work together to create and launch innovative pilot projects that use clean hydrogen to decarbonize heavy transport, increase renewables integration, and decrease emissions in the U.S. energy sector more broadly.

“Hydrogen offers incredible potential for decarbonizing some of society’s most challenging industries; however, little has been done in the way of considering technology, business models, and regulatory/policy issues together,” says Lisa Frantzis, partner in Guidehouse’s Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure (ES&I) segment. “We are thrilled to bring together some of the brightest industry players to develop truly innovative pilots that will advance the use of hydrogen and identify the most effective applications.”

The consortium’s working groups are currently conceptualizing three pilots: heavy duty transport in the Southwest U.S.; green ammonia production in NY; and integrated blue and green hydrogen for industrial, peaking power, ammonia, and heavy transport applications in the U.S. Gulf Coast, each of which could be a part of developing hydrogen hubs across the United States. The pilots have a well-defined business case and include the stimulation of clean hydrogen demand to drive an adequate, cost-competitive supply by 2025-2030. The consortium will focus on projects that can scale and be replicable for significant impact on decarbonization across the U.S.

“Hydrogen is a classic ‘chicken and egg’ situation. Consortium members fully understand that scalable business cases must address the development of markets just as much as the supply chain,” said Richard Shandross, consortium manager and associate director at Guidehouse.

Before the pilots launch, members will work to build partnerships with regional and global players across the private sector and gain commitments for engagement through memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The team will also apply for funding sources when available and as needed.

Guidehouse will continue to guide the pilots through implementation and execution, providing analysis, and working to build relationships among members and industries.

To date, over 20 organizations have joined the consortium, including (but not limited to) Ameresco, AVANGRID, Bank of America, Citi, CF Industries, Chart Industries Inc., Con Edison of New York, Constellation, Cummins, Dentons, Exelon, Hyzon Motors USA, ITOCHU, Linde, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, Navistar, New York Power Authority, Ørsted, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, Salt River Project (SRP), Sempra Infrastructure, and Walmart. The consortium is also in active discussions with the Port of Los Angeles and other hydrogen groups to assess additional stakeholder engagement.

“Guidehouse brings deep relationships with all the stakeholders in this new hydrogen marketplace and has the subject matter expertise to steer the consortium and launch these pilot projects,” says Jan Vrins, leader of Guidehouse’s ES&I segment. “Additionally, we have unique market and technology insights and have completed innovative and groundbreaking hydrogen engagements in Europe and internationally that can be leveraged in the U.S.”

“The market’s demand for a clean, scalable and dispatchable future energy source such as green hydrogen is something Ameresco is well positioned for through our Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and Green Electric Generating facilities across the country,” said Ameresco EVP, Mike Bakas. “We look forward to utilizing our core competencies to accelerate the growth of hydrogen in the market for the benefit of our clients and the environment.”

“We see a role for us to become a leader in the green hydrogen economy by building on our expertise as a leading renewables developer and operator,” said Manuel Gonzalez, SVP and Chief of Staff to the CEO of AVANGRID. “AVANGRID’s utility territories are particularly rich with experts in the hydrogen technology industry, and we are collaborating with them to establish the Northeast as a “Green Hydrogen Valley” in the US, while directing investments towards economically and environmentally distressed communities.”

“Hydrogen will play a key role in the transition to clean energy, but we are just beginning to unlock its full potential,” said Andy Sarantapoulas, Vice President Marketing and Product Management at Linde. “We are excited to join the Building the Clean Hydrogen Economy consortium, where we will contribute Linde’s leading hydrogen experience, technology and resources to help accelerate the use of clean hydrogen across multiple industries. It will take a great deal of collaboration between public and private parties to create the necessary framework to sustainably support the technology, infrastructure, funding and business models required and we look forward to playing an integral role.”

Source: Guidehouse