Green hydrogen drives partnership between Puget Sound Energy, Fortescue Future Industries
Through a Memorandum of Understanding, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) signaled a new partnership this week dedicated to evaluating opportunities for the regional development, storage, transportation, and use of green hydrogen.
“As the largest utility in the state, PSE has a big stake in supporting the growth, adoption, and stabilization of the hydrogen economy,” Josh Jacobs, vice president of clean energy strategy at PSE, said. “We see lower carbon fuels like hydrogen playing a key role in decarbonizing the electric system as well as the piped energy system. Carbon-free, flexible resources such as hydrogen will be crucial to complement the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like wind and solar and maintain a stable grid.”
PSE and FFI will now work on a foundation for possible green hydrogen supply agreements, among other opportunities for partnership, as guided by a steering committee and working groups.
For both companies, this represents something of an extension of pre-existing efforts. At PSE, for example, its aspirational goal is to become a Beyond Net Zero Carbon energy company by 2045 by transforming its energy supply and reducing carbon emissions, among other sectors. FFI, a global green energy company, announced earlier this year that it would evaluate the feasibility of repurposing existing fossil fuel infrastructure at the former Centralia coal mine in Washington for at-scale green hydrogen production.
“This is an important step forward to help utilities such as PSE to decarbonize their operations,” Andry Vesey, CEO of FFI North America, said. “There is significant demand for green hydrogen in North America, and FFI is on a mission to meet this demand. The Inflation Reduction Act and Canada’s 2022 Fall Economic Statement make North America one of the best places in the world to invest in green energy.”
The partners hope that by expanding the use of lower carbon fuels like hydrogen, the transition to a clean energy economy might be a smoother success story.
