Greentech Lead America: Carbon Sciences said it is
targeting the $150 billion hydrogen market with its breakthrough technology to make transportation fuels,
hydrogen and other valuable products from natural gas.
The company estimates that it can save the exiting
natural gas-to-hydrogen industry approximately $6 billion per year.
Carbon Sciences novel catalyst will allow plant operators
to reduce the steam to natural gas ratio. Less steam used means more natural gas is processed in a
greener and cleaner solution that saves energy costs, increases profits and reduces CO2 emissions.
“With an abundance of market opportunities ahead of
us, we have chosen to focus first on the hydrogen market. Hydrogen is a here and now market and represents
the lowest hanging fruit for us. If our catalyst proves to be best of breed, we expect to be adopted
very rapidly,” said Byron Elton, CEO, Carbon Sciences.
Carbon Sciences estimates approximately $6 billion per
year of economic value to operators of steam methane reforming plants.
Its engineering team calculates savings of approximately
$3.7 million per year for an average size SMR plant producing 44,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year
(50 million standard cubic feet per day), assuming a current price for natural gas.
World hydrogen production is about 75 million metric tons
with a market value of approximately $2,00 per metric ton. Therefore, we calculate that our novel
catalyst has the potential to save 75,000,000 / 44,000 x $3.7 million = $6.3 billion per year.”
Major companies are moving to expand production to meet
the worldwide demand for hydrogen.
Last week, Air Liquide announced the start up of a new
steam methane reforming plant in La Porte, Texas, just east of Houston.
The estimated 120 million standard cubic feet per day of
gaseous hydrogen produced by this SMR plant will feed into the company’s pipeline system along the
Texas Gulf Coast, including the recently built 85 mile pipeline expansion to supply refineries in Port
Arthur, Texas.
In January 2012, Air Liquide began supplying hydrogen to
a fleet of 37 hydrogen-powered fuel cell forklifts at a leading soft drink maker’s bottling and
distribution facility in California.