Chevron has acquired a majority interest in ACES Delta, the entity responsible for developing the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project located in Delta, Utah.
ACES Delta is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Power and Magnum Development, which is now a Chevron subsidiary.
This collaboration signifies the significant potential of the project to advance lower carbon intensity solutions, particularly in the areas of hydrogen production, storage, and utilization.
ACES Delta will leverage Chevron’s extensive experience in the fuels business and Mitsubishi Power’s leading clean energy technology solutions to further accelerate decarbonization efforts. The project aims to drive increased demand for hydrogen and explore viable alternatives in the transportation, power, and industrial sectors.
Michael Ducker, Senior Vice President of Hydrogen Infrastructure for Mitsubishi Power, highlighted the importance of diverse partnerships in advancing decarbonization solutions, stating, “The addition of Chevron to ACES Delta is further evidence that partnership and commitment from a diverse group of experts and leaders are beneficial to the industry’s continued pursuit of decarbonization solutions.”
Austin Knight, Vice President of Hydrogen at Chevron New Energies, emphasized the significance of expanding lower carbon intensity hydrogen supply and innovative storage solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The ACES project is an industry and utility-scale clean hydrogen facility designed to produce, store, and deliver green hydrogen to the western United States. It aims to utilize excess renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, to operate large-scale electrolyzers supplied by Mitsubishi Power for producing lower carbon intensity hydrogen and oxygen. ACES 1, part of the project, is expected to generate approximately 100 metric tonnes of hydrogen per day by mid-2025.
To store the hydrogen, the project plans to leverage Utah’s unique geological salt domes, with two massive salt caverns capable of storing 150-gigawatt hours of energy each. This long-duration energy storage capability is expected to enhance resource adequacy by capturing excess renewable energy and dispatching it back to the grid when needed.
Intermountain Power Agency has secured offtake agreements for the first two caverns, intending to use the hydrogen for their IPP Renewed project in central Utah. The 840-megawatt natural gas power plant at IPP Renewed aims to operate using fuel with up to 30 percent lower carbon intensity hydrogen by 2025, ultimately transitioning to 100 percent hydrogen by 2045.