The proposed solar-to-hydrogen facility, roughly 75 MW, would require an estimated 175 million euros in capital investment, with a final investment decision expected in early 2024 and commissioning in the first half of 2025. Once operational, this project will provide enough hydrogen fuel to support over 1,000 Class 8 trucks or buses per day.
The companies have already entered into a land-lease agreement to secure 320 acres in Kern County, California for the project's development. Fusion Fuel has engaged Black & Veatch to perform a concept study and is also working with Cornerstone Engineering and Headwaters Solutions.
“This is a critical moment for Fusion Fuel and for our ambition to be a global leader in clean hydrogen solutions” said Jason Baran, Fusion Fuel’s Chief Commercial Officer. “In just under two years as a public company, Fusion Fuel has established itself as a key player in the Iberian green hydrogen ecosystem. However, we knew that entering a new market, particularly one as large and complex as North America, would require a cornerstone project and a credible partner. Due to the unique combination of solar irradiance, California tax incentives, and proximity to large-scale offtake, Bakersfield is the ideal project to anchor our North American strategy. We are extremely excited to be unveiling the Bakersfield project alongside our development partner, Electus Energy, which has been actively developing hydrogen mobility solutions in the Southwestern United States and has cultivated deep relationships with prospective offtakers in the logistics and distribution ecosystem.”
Andrew Greene, Electus Energy’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, added that the most critical part of implementing any successful hydrogen mobility programme is the ability to source reliable, clean hydrogen fuel at an attractive price.
“we believe our partnership with Fusion Fuel will help lower the cost of fuel for our customers and accelerate the adoption of zero-emission hydrogen vehicles for all automotive applications, including heavy trucking, public transportation and automobiles” said Mr Greene.
Zachary Steele, Co-Head of Fusion Fuel, said that North America has always been a focal point of Fusion Fuel’s growth strategy as the company builds upon its successes in Iberia and begin to look beyond Southern Europe.
“However, the passage of the game changing Inflation Reduction Act earlier this year caused a dramatic acceleration of those plans” added Mr Steele. “The production and investment tax credits promise to significantly improve the already attractive economics of our solar-to-hydrogen solution in many markets across the US.”
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