AFCP has executed a letter of intent with Progressus to develop an industry-leading clean hydrogen joint venture project.
Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. (AFCP), a diversified investment platform developing affordable, renewable, and reliable energy assets and cleantech, has announced the execution of a letter of intent (LOI) with Progressus Clean Technologies Inc. (Progressus). The letter of intent, executed on September 12 2022, is to complete a joint venture (JV) pilot project, providing a solution for natural gas utilities to directly power both residential and commercial businesses.
Progressus is a venture-stage green technology company developing solutions for hydrogen generation and separation, which are complementary to AFCP’s fuel cell technologies. The joint venture is intended to provide proof of concept for each company’s technologies and assess the ability to combine various Progressus technologies with AFCP fuel cells to serve residential and small building customers across North America.
Frank Carnevale, Chief Executive Officer of AFCP, stated: “Alkaline Fuel Cell Power is pleased to be working with the talented team at Progressus to combine our respective technologies and accelerate the ability for utility companies to utilise natural gas pipelines for the distribution of hydrogen for residential and commercial customers, more immediately.
“This JV pilot project is a key milestone in our goal of making zero emission fuel cells widely available, handing ‘power to the people’ so that individuals can both save on energy costs while positively contributing to global emission reduction targets.”
Channce Fuller, Chief Executive Officer of Progressus, added: “The missions and combined vision of AFCP and Progressus are very complementary to one another. By leveraging the strengths of both organisations, we can more efficiently and effectively solve the growing need for innovative hydrogen solutions. The proposed JV pilot project with AFCP is an active step towards progressing hydrogen innovation and combining the suite of technologies that will ultimately be needed for global hydrogen solutions in the future.”
Summary of the clean hydrogen joint venture
To reduce CO2 emissions around the world, gas distribution companies and municipalities are setting-up projects to inject hydrogen into the local gas distribution grid. This gas mixture generally aims to contain up to 20% hydrogen and its use is targeted for residential and commercial buildings.
AFCP and Progressus will work together to execute a JV pilot project, utilising technologies from each company to provide in-field proof-of-concept, generate operational data that can inform continued development and market opportunities, and establish a platform to support future potential growth and additional partnerships. The exact location of the JV pilot project remains under consideration, but initially, North America will be the focus with secondary priority given to potential future pilots in Europe.
Progressus technologies enable the extraction of dilute hydrogen from gas streams, a critical component as utility companies globally increasingly strive to inject hydrogen into natural gas streams. Progressus represents a solution that can extract the hydrogen at high efficiencies, complementing AFCP’s low-cost combined heat and power (CHP) alkaline fuel cell and generator development.
The JV pilot project is designed to use the Progressus hydrogen separation technology to efficiently extract hydrogen at high purities from the existing natural gas grid, and then convert the purified hydrogen using either AFCP’s 4 kW Micro-CHP or 4 kW generator to produce electricity, and potentially heat. This project could be put to immediate use in a residential home or commercial building, providing zero emission power. AFCP has already identified interest from natural gas and electric utilities and municipalities to pilot the concept.
By accelerating the distribution of hydrogen through natural gas transportation networks, particularly in North America, sales of AFCP’s alkaline fuel cell CHP units and generator systems could be rapidly scaled. Combining AFCP’s and Progressus’ technologies offers an ideal potential solution to support the generation of low carbon energy that contributes to the world’s clean energy transition.
Background to the joint venture
Currently, the energy sector contributes approximately three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions and is therefore simultaneously capable of averting the worst effects of climate change.
To reduce CO2 emissions, gas distribution companies and municipalities are advancing projects that facilitate the injection of hydrogen into the local gas distribution grid as a cleaner energy source.
In the last two years alone, more than two dozen hydrogen injection projects have been announced in the US, with additional commitments outlined in early 2022. With the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), there is massive momentum building for additional investment in clean hydrogen solutions. Beyond the US, the largest global gas utilities (including SoCalGas, Enbridge, ATCO Gas, Snam SpA, Enagas S.A., and Open Grid Europe) are all actively working on projects to inject hydrogen into their natural gas grids.
The proposed pilot project would initially cover one extraction system linked to one 4 kW Micro-CHP or generator system, with expansion to a larger scale in future pilots designed to provide clean hydrogen and power for multiple residential users or commercial applications.
As the company disclosed on August 25, 2022, AFCP is expecting to have six prototype fuel cells to utilise within pilots, globally.
Forecasts for the second half of 2022
On June 20, 2022, the company provided an outlook for the remainder of 2022 and beyond. Within this, it was indicated that AFCP will further accelerate and ramp up efforts to bring fuel cells to market, globally. The company also indicated that it will look to secure additional strategic partnerships for the piloting and deployment of fuel cells in North America. With this announcement, AFCP is pleased to continue to meet its outlook objectives for the second half of 2022.
About Progressus Clean Technologies
Progress Clean Technologies (formerly AES-100 Inc.) is a venture stage green technology company focused on the development of novel hydrogen generation and separation technologies. Progressus Clean Technologies owns the exclusive rights and intellectual property pertaining to the Advanced Electrolyser System for the production of hydrogen from dilute syngas.
