By Gabriel Scotto / Woub

PIKETON, Ohio (WOUB) — After undergoing 13 years of cleanup, a former uranium enrichment plant in Piketon is being repurposed as an alternative energy hub and manufacturing facility.

As part of these efforts, Texas-based Newpoint Gas is investing $1.5 billion in a facility that will convert natural gas into hydrogen.

Completed during the Cold War, the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant enriched thousands of tons of weapons-grade uranium for atomic bombs, along with low-enriched uranium for use as fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. Uranium enrichment at the plant ended in 2001.

In 2010, Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service began efforts in conjunction with the Department of Energy to redevelop the site, which is undergoing a massive cleanup to decontaminate the site. The first step was a 15-month, grassroots public engagement process which used focus groups, town halls and phone surveys to determine what the community wanted to do with the plant.

“Pretty much unanimously, it was about ‘jobs, jobs, jobs.’ Because it was a major employer for so many decades, they wanted to see the site leveraged for additional jobs for the future,” said Stephanie Howe, director of energy programs at the Voinovich School.

Howe and the Voinovich School found the top three preferred uses for the plant of those surveyed were energy production, manufacturing and research and development. Eventually, the decision was made to pursue an “all of the above” strategy, focusing on decarbonization through producing nuclear and green energy and engaging in sustainable manufacturing. Other goals of the project include onshoring vital supply chains and investing in union labor.

“We have a partnership with organized labor in the state of Ohio and we’re getting the developers we’re working with to sign agreements where they use union labor for these projects,” Howe explained. “Because if you’re using union labor and growing union jobs, that’s going to grow the middle class.”

Newpoint Gas’ facility in Piketon will convert natural gas into 500 metric tons per day of hydrogen that will be used in the production of clean ammonia and clean silicon for use in the production of steel, aluminum, solar panels and semiconductors.

While Newpoint will initially produce hydrogen using natural gas as the feedstock, this is not intended to be a permanent arrangement. Rather, it represents an early stage in hydrogen production before the technology matures and becomes widespread.

“In order to launch the hydrogen economy, you have to create this foundation of hydrogen production and hydrogen infrastructure,” said Wiley Rhodes, CEO of Newpoint. “The long-term objectives are to be able to replace that at some point in the future whenever the technology and economics will support it to use water and other components as the feedstock to produce the hydrogen.”

To convert natural gas into hydrogen, Newpoint will separate the carbon atoms from the hydrogen atoms using a steam methane reformer, with the resulting carbon dioxide being sequestered underground.

In addition to natural gas being readily available, another factor behind Newpoint’s decision to construct this facility in Piketon is because the unique geology of Appalachia makes southeastern Ohio ideal for sequestering carbon.

“We’re taking the natural gas, bringing it into a system and then we’re putting the carbon back where it comes from. There’s underground caverns and formations that are conducive to storing gaseous molecules,” Rhodes explained. “There’s enough storage capacity in southeastern Ohio that we can get started (in sequestering carbon).”

Newpoint will be the second energy company to establish operations at the plant in Piketon. In mid-October, Maryland-based Centrus Energy began producing high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for next generation nuclear reactors and modular nuclear reactors.

Another energy firm, California-based Oklo, is planning on constructing two nuclear power plants at the Piketon site that will utilize the HALEU produced onsite by Centrus. In addition, plans are being made by an as-yet-unnamed energy company to construct large-scale battery storage for electricity generated by solar arrays.

Howe says that the goal of these projects is to get more clean energy onto the national grid.

“Right now, people are talking about ‘electrify, electrify, electrify,’ but just because you plug something in doesn’t mean it’s clean. Something has to produce the electricity,” Howe said. “We’re really looking at how do we get more cleaner power available for industry as well as just residential consumers.”

Right now, no one agency is tasked with regulating pipelines and other hydrogen infrastructure. Experts say that could pose a problem after the nascent technology turns into big business.

By: Brian Dabbs / National Journal

 

A major legislative overhaul of infrastructure-permitting rules is now on ice after the chief architect of the deal, Sen. Joe Manchin, failed to amass enough votes to stick it on the stopgap funding bill moving through the Senate.

…

That language could clarify federal regulation of hydrogen and give developers more certainty that their projects will ultimately operate.

“There is uncertainty around hydrogen from a regulatory standpoint, not from a science or engineering standpoint,” Zane Rhodes, president of Newpoint Gas, told National Journal. “Anyone who wants to put in a hydrogen pipeline needs to know under what regulatory framework it can be licensed.”

On Wednesday, Newpoint Gas announced the formation of a new business venture, Trillium H2 Power, that will produce hydrogen to power its ammonia and silicon production at a former Energy Department facility near Columbus, Ohio. Rhodes expects the new venture to produce several thousand construction jobs and at least 250 long-term positions.

Some power-sector representatives are also backing the hydrogen-permitting language in the Manchin bill.

…

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are preparing to depart Washington after passing the stopgap funding measure. And despite the failure to move permitting reform this week, members on both sides of the aisle are aiming to negotiate a new permitting bill to tack onto another must-pass bill this year.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Contact: Daniel van Hoogstraten, [email protected]

 

COLUMBUS, OH – Newpoint Gas today announced it has established Trillium H2 Power, LLC (tH₂), which will be headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The entity will own and operate clean hydrogen energy production and sustainable manufacturing facilities. tH₂’s initial project and “the hub” for all future development will be identified as the h₂Trillium Energy and Manufacturing (h₂TEAM). The Complex will be located adjacent to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site in Southeast Ohio.

 

In addition to establishing tH₂, Newpoint has completed their exclusive and right of first refusal property agreements with the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI), expanding the acreage commitment from 80 to 250 acres. tH₂ will be purchasing clean and remediated parcels formerly owned by DOE that have been deeded to SODI. SODI is the DOE-designated community reuse organization for the PORTS site.

 

“Finalizing the SODI property agreement for 250 acres which is required for the full development of the h₂TEAM Complex was the final task that we needed to complete so that we could launch efforts to secure investment and financing of the project” said Wiley Rhodes, CEO of Newpoint Gas. “With the land deal finalized, Mike Knisley of Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council scheduled some very productive meetings for us with the DOE Loan Program Office and a private investment group in DC. We are now engaged with both organizations regarding assisting in development of the SE Ohio project.”

 

“Organized labor is working to ensure the PORTS reindustrialization creates good-paying union jobs and is transformative in a region that has been left behind for too long,” said Mike Knisley, Secretary Treasurer, Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council. “We are showing how organized labor, private industry, and community leaders can come together to make a large-scale, job-creating project in the 21st-century economy a reality.”

 

Newpoint is working with local, state, and federal leadership to establish a regional hydrogen hub. Newpoint and its h₂TEAM partners are evaluating the recently released $8 billion DOE H2Hubs Initiative funding opportunity announcement as a possible resource for these efforts.

 

“In tandem with SODI, Ohio University is proud to have been a partner in developing the vision and leading the efforts to reindustrialize the PORTS site since 2010,” said Stephanie Howe, Director of Energy Programs at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. “After more than a decade of work and collaboration, the project will become a reality – creating endurable jobs in the new energy and sustainable manufacturing economy for the region for decades to come.”

 

“h₂TEAM represents a generational opportunity to reinvigorate communities that have been left behind as energy production and manufacturing shifted over the last several decades.” said Steve Shepherd, Executive Director of SODI. “By reindustrializing the former PORTS facility, we will be a nation-leading example – right here in Southern Ohio – of transforming a federal liability into a taxpayer asset that increases economic stability in struggling areas.”

 

Newpoint Gas was introduced to the project in 2020, and the h₂TEAM project builds on more than a decade of work by Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service and SODI to plan for, develop, and pursue the redevelopment of the PORTS facility. In addition to Newpoint Gas, SODI, Ohio University, Babcock & Wilcox, and J.W. Didado, the partnership also includes organized labor leaders in Ohio and other organizations in support of the reindustrialization effort

Generation and Carbon Sequestration Project near Piketon, Ohio

September 08, 2022 09:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time

AKRON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–J.W. Didado Electric announced today that it has signed a teaming
agreement with Newpoint Gas to serve as a design assist and installation partner and provide electrical
and grid services work on the redevelopment of the former U.S. Department of Energy’s Portsmouth
Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) into an advanced hydrogen generation, decarbonization and
combustion clean energy manufacturing facility near Piketon, Ohio.

The centerpiece of the h2Trillium Energy and Manufacturing (h2TEAM) Complex, the $1.5 billion project will
be an integrated energy system – closed loop manufacturing facility powered by clean hydrogen, with
carbon sequestration. At peak, in the construction phase, it will provide approximately 2,900 jobs and,
when finished, will produce clean silicon, ammonia, and power.

“We look forward to working with Newpoint and the other partners on this innovative and groundbreaking
endeavor,” said J.W. Didado President Dan Sublett. “Our parent company, Quanta Services, is an industry
leader in clean energy projects and we are excited to lend our collective expertise and abilities to such an
important project, one that will also create well-paying jobs for our union partners.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to add J.W. Didado and Quanta Services to the team developing the clean
power and manufacturing complex in Pike County,” said Wiley Rhodes, CEO of Newpoint Gas. “The
Didado family established their electrical services company in Ohio more than 60 years ago and built it
into the premier electrical contractor covering Appalachia. J.W. Didado’s ability to provide a highly skilled
union workforce and materials as well as its electrical and grid construction expertise further builds on the
foundation for this important clean energy project,” he said.

Dan Shirey, business manager of IBEW Local 575 noted, “The International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers has been involved with the project for more than a year now, partnering with other union leaders,
industry experts, and elected officials. With union contractor J.W. Didado Electric on board, rest assured
this project will provide great union wages and benefits to those who build it and provide a much-needed
economic boost for the local communities that surround the site. Thanks to passage of the Inflation
Reduction Act, this project will become a reality and support the livelihood of union families for years to
come.”

Stephanie Howe and her team at the Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service
began working with Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) to redevelop the DOE Portsmouth site
in 2010. Newpoint joined that effort in 2020 to help define the redevelopment and launched the initiative
in March 2022. Working with the SODI, Babcock & Wilcox, Ohio University, J.W. Didado, and other
technical partners the team intends to pursue a part of the $8 billion Department of Energy Hydrogen Hub
(H2Hubs) grant for central Appalachia. If awarded, the grant of the funds will be invested in additional
development of hydrogen production and infrastructure bringing more jobs to the region.
About J.W. Didado Electric

J.W. Didado is a full-service electrical contractor providing high-performance solutions to a variety of
commercial, industrial, and residential customer needs. The company’s readily available manpower and
equipment allow it to successfully perform on projects of any size or type. For more information,
visit http://www.jwdidado.com.

About Quanta Services
Quanta Services is a leading specialized contracting services company, delivering comprehensive
infrastructure solutions for the utility, communications, pipeline, and energy industries. Quanta’s
comprehensive services include designing, installing, repairing, and maintaining energy and
communications infrastructure. With operations throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and
select other international markets, Quanta has the manpower, resources and expertise to safely complete
projects that are local, regional, national, or international in scope. For more information,
visit www.quantaservices.com.

Contacts:
Dr. Bill Paolillo
Vice President – Strategic Alliances & Advanced Technologies
J.W. Didado Electric
330-604-0527
[email protected]

By: Bioenergy Insight

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (B&W) has signed a teaming agreement with gas treatment specialist Newpoint Gas to act as a foundational technology partner. It will provide advanced hydrogen generation, decarbonisation and combustion technologies for the redevelopment of the former US Department of Energy Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion plant site near Piketon in Ohio, US.

B&W will supply its “BrightLoop” technology to produce hydrogen and isolate carbon dioxide for storage and will supply a steam generator utilising the company’s “BrightGen” hydrogen combustion technology to produce clean, near-zero emissions energy.

Continue Reading

 

By: The Scioto Post

PIKETON, OH – In a milestone for a major clean energy and manufacturing project that aims to reinvigorate manufacturing and the economy in central Appalachia, Newpoint Gas today announced that Akron, Ohio-based Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) (NYSE: BW) has agreed to serve as a foundational technology partner in support of Newpoint’s h2Trillium Energy and Manufacturing (h2TEAM) complex. The h2TEAM complex will serve as the anchor development project to launch a larger reindustrialization vision at the site of the U.S. Department of Energy’s former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) facility near Piketon, Ohio.

Continue Reading

Following More than a Decade of Work and Collaboration, Agreement with Newpoint Gas Marks Milestone in Green Energy and Manufacturing Initiative

PIKETON, OH – In a significant step forward for a major reindustrialization project that aims to reinvigorate manufacturing and the economy in the Ohio Valley and Central Appalachia, the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) today announced that Newpoint Gas, LLC has signed a Letter of Intent for option and right of first refusal to purchase land where the project will be located.

The project – the reindustrialization of the former Portsmouth Diffusion Plant (PORTS) facility near Piketon, Ohio – will be the foundation of the Ohio Valley “Green Energy and Manufacturing” Initiative (GEM). GEM is a bipartisan, labor-focused, functioning public-private partnership that is the result of a 12-year effort to establish a transformational economic development strategy coordinated under the leadership of SODI and Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.

“The Ohio Valley Green Energy Manufacturing Initiative represents a unique, generational opportunity to reinvigorate communities that have been left behind as energy production and manufacturing shifted over the last several decades. The agreement with Newpoint Gas is a monumental step toward realizing that reality,” said Steve Shepherd, Executive Director of SODI. “By reindustrializing the former PORTS facility, we will be a nation-leading example – right here in Southern Ohio – of transforming a federal liability into a taxpayer asset that increases economic stability in struggling areas.”

The reindustrialization will transform the former PORTS facility into a power generation facility fueled by clean hydrogen, which will facilitate an Integrated Energy System and Manufacturing complex. The complex will create an “all of the above” energy strategy for decarbonizing power generation, manufacturing, and transportation to create high-paying union jobs while combating the climate crisis in the clean energy economy.

“The reindustrialization of the PORTS facility not only presents enormous opportunity for industry, but also has the chance to be the single most impactful driver of economic growth and stability in this region in a generation,” said Wiley Rhodes, CEO of Newpoint Gas. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be involved in a project that has successfully and thoughtfully brought together such a wide array of interests, from SODI and Ohio University to organized labor and private industry.”

Based on their work in the production of clean hydrogen and power generation, Newpoint Gas was introduced to the project in 2020 and is now the GEM private anchor partner. In addition to Newpoint Gas, SODI, and Ohio University, the partnership also includes organized labor leaders in Ohio and other organizations in support of the reindustrialization effort.

“Ohio University is proud to be a leader in this transformational effort and to show what is possible when academia comes together with private industry, organized labor and public interests to improve the communities in our region,” said Stephanie Howe, Director of Energy Programs at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. “The resources provided by the DOE Office of Environmental Management and Ohio University have been vital to this effort for more than a decade. We collaborate with stakeholders and partners to engage in a data driven process to form and launch the Ohio Valley GEM project. GEM will create endurable jobs in the new energy and sustainable manufacturing economy for the region for decades to come.”

“Organized labor has been working closely with industry and community leaders with the goal of creating good-paying union jobs for workers in the region,” said Tim Burga, President of the Ohio AFL-CIO. “As this venture moves forward, we will call for government support to ensure this project is transformative in a part of our state that has all too often been left behind.”

In addition to the reindustrialization of the former PORTS facility, GEM’s longer-term efforts are further enhanced by the availability of deactivated coal fired power plants and other industrial facilities in the region, which can serve as ‘satellite spokes’ to the core complex by converting such facilities to generate and supply sustainable fuel options from biomass and raw materials for manufacturing. By design, the concept extends job creation in the region, further develops low-carbon technologies and fuels, and sustainable manufacturing compounding the positive social, economic, and environmental impact in the heart of Appalachia.
###
The Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) is a nonprofit, community improvement corporation and serves as the DOE-designated community reuse organization for the PORTS facility. SODI’s mission is to improve the quality of life for citizens of Jackson, Pike, Ross, and Scioto Counties through economic
diversification, development of underutilized land and facilities on the PORTS facility site, and continued support of local industry. SODI is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of appointed local elected officials and members of the community with members representing business and government leaders from the four-county region.

By Kevin Robinson-Avila / Journal Staff Writer

A parade of state officials, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, have toured the coal-fired Escalante Generating Station near Grants since last summer to learn first-hand about industry plans to convert the facility into a hydrogen-based power plant.

The $600 million effort could make Escalante the nation’s first successful coal-to-hydrogen conversion project, elevating New Mexico – and the tiny town of Prewitt where the plant is located – into a leadership role in hydrogen development in the U.S. and beyond.

Continue Reading

Escalante Power Project to Convert Coal-fired Power Plant to Clean Hydrogen

Leawood, Kan., Aug. 9, 2021 – Tallgrass Energy, LP announced today that it has closed on the purchase of a 75 percent membership interest in Escalante H2 Power (EH2 Power). EH2 Power is developing a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-to-power project at Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.’s Escalante Generating Station near Prewitt, New Mexico, by converting the retired coal-fired power plant into a clean hydrogen-fired power generating facility.

“Our acquisition of a 75 percent membership interest in EH2 Power further advances our overall hydrogen development and clean energy infrastructure strategy,” said Tallgrass CEO William R. Moler. “We believe the Escalante Station is uniquely positioned to be a proving ground for hydrogen-to-power in the U.S. We look forward to working with Tri-State, Newpoint, the local community, and stakeholders throughout New Mexico on this exciting project.”

Tallgrass acquired its membership interest in EH2 Power from Denver-based Brooks Energy Company. The ownership of Newpoint Gas, LLC will retain a 25 percent membership interest in EH2 Power and continue to partner with Tallgrass in EH2’s development of the hydrogen conversion project at the Escalante Station.

“This marks another step forward for New Mexico’s push into a thriving clean energy future, one that builds new opportunities for communities transitioning toward new horizons,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “New Mexico has what it takes to become an international hydrogen hub, furthering our decarbonization and climate efforts while creating quality jobs for New Mexicans.” “The EH2 Power team has brought tremendous vision and drive to the conversion project, and the State of New Mexico’s leadership in clean hydrogen innovation is exciting for development at Escalante and across the state,” said Dwayne Phillips, Vice President – Hydrogen for Tallgrass. “We are very appreciative of the Brooks Energy team, and we look forward to working with our partners at Newpoint to build on the successes they have achieved with Brooks.”

“We look forward to working with the Tallgrass team on transforming Escalante into a clean hydrogen hub,” said Wiley Rhodes, CEO of Newpoint Gas, LLC. “Building on Newpoint’s work, Tallgrass brings strong technical expertise to the project. Of equal importance, Newpoint and Tallgrass share the goal of advancing next-generation hydrogen technologies and offering critical decarbonized energy solutions through the Escalante Station.”

For more information about Tallgrass, visit www.tallgrassenergy.com.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Disclosures in this press release contain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that management expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this press release specifically include the successful conversion of the Escalante Station into a clean hydrogen-fired power generating facility and a hydrogen hub; the expected benefits of the conversion and from operating the Escalante Station as a proving ground for hydrogen-to-power technology; the timing of the completion of the conversion project; and the expected benefits from emerging energy technologies involving hydrogen and other decarbonized energy. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Tallgrass, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements, and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including those set forth in reports and financial statements made available by Tallgrass. Any forward-looking statement applies only as of the date on which such statement is made, and Tallgrass does not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Tallgrass Energy Contacts

Media and Trade Inquiries

Phyllis Hammond, 303-763-3568

[email protected]

or

Investor and Financial Inquiries

Andrea Attel, 913-928-6012

[email protected]