Houston-based Fidelis New Energy LLC plans to build a carbon-neutral hydrogen facility in West Virginia using a combination of natural gas and renewable energy, in addition to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
The Mountaineer GigaSystem in Mason County would be completed in four phases, with the first phase expected to begin operations in 2028. Each phase could produce more than 500 metric tons/day of clean hydrogen.
“I am beyond excited that West Virginia will be the home of the Mountaineer GigaSystem and Monarch Cloud Campus,” Gov. Jim Justice said. “West Virginia has a long history as an energy powerhouse for our nation…And now, we’re in a great position” to advance hydrogen.
“There’s simply no doubt that Fidelis is going to help shape the future of West Virginia in a major, major way by assisting in the commercial lift-off of some truly exciting new industries,” he added.
Mountaineer would use proprietary FidelisH2 technology, a “data center campus powered and cooled by clean hydrogen, and a greenhouse system” that uses waste heat and captures carbon dioxide. The carbon-neutral fuel would be used “for a variety of purposes, including carbon- neutral hyperscale data centers, greenhouses, transportation and steel production,” Fidelis officials said.
Fidelis plans to use Babcock & Wilcox Inc.’s BrightLoop hydrogen technology to target the full build-out of the facilities. BrightLoop’s technology enables the clean hydrogen to be produced from waste biomass, which includes trees, sawmill waste and other solid fuels, as well as via natural gas combined with CCUS.
The center is expected to provide employment for up to 800 full-time jobs and 4,200 construction workers, Justice said. The state also is providing an incentive package for Fidelis to conduct geologic evaluations for CCUS, which is required for the necessary permits.
“When all four phases of the Mountaineer GigaSystem are operational, approximately 10 million metric tons/year of CO2 would be permanently stored, providing over $100 million in annual revenue to the state or approximately $25 million per phase each year,” according to the governor’s office.
The state and Fidelis also have finalized an operating agreement to determine the targeted storage capacity and the pore space agreement to conduct CCUS in certain areas.
“The state’s position at the forefront of energy and chemical production in the United States makes it a natural choice for a project such as ours,” Fidelis’ Pete Hollis, global head of CCUS, said.
