The company has said it expects the plant to be fully operational by 2023.
SGH2’s process uses a plasma-enhanced thermal catalytic conversion process optimized with oxygen-enriched gas. In the gasification island’s catalyst-bed chamber, plasma torches generate such high temperatures (3500 ºC - 4000 ºC), that the waste feedstock disintegrates into its molecular compounds, without combustion ash or toxic fly ash. As the gases exit the catalyst-bed chamber, the molecules bind into a very high quality hydrogen-rich biosyngas free of tar, soot and heavy metals.
According to the company, the cost of the green hydrogen is comparable to “gray” hydrogen produced using fossil fuels.
The City of Lancaster has reportedly signed an MOU with the company to host and co-own the facility.
Once operational, the plant is expected to produce up to11,000 kilograms of green hydrogen per day, and 3.8 million kilograms per year—nearly three times more than any other green hydrogen facility.
As reported in Green Car Congress, the City of Lancaster will supply guaranteed feedstock of recyclables, and will save between $50 to $75 per ton in landfilling and landfill space costs. California’s largest owners and operators of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) are in negotiation to purchase the plant’s output to supply current and future HRS to be built in the state over the next ten years.
A consortium of leading global companies and top institutions have joined with SGH2 and the City of Lancaster to develop and implement the Lancaster project, including: Fluor, Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley, Thermosolv, Integrity Engineers, Millenium, HyetHydrogen, and Hexagon.
Fluor, a global engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance company, will provide front-end engineering and design for the Lancaster facility.
The plant will be built on a 5-acre site, which is zoned heavy industrial. It is anticipated to employ 35 people full-time once it’s operational, and will provide more than 600 jobs during 18 months of construction. SGH2 anticipates breaking ground in Q1 2021.
