FFI partners with Puget Sound Energy for green hydrogen

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) in partnership with Puget Sound Energy intends to convert an old coal mine in the US into a green hydrogen-making plant in a bid to accelerate a clean energy transition in the North American Pacific Northwest.

FFI earlier this year said it was evaluating the feasibility of transforming the former Centralia coal mine in Washington state – closed in 2006 – into a green hydrogen operation to help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors.

The proposed plant would repurpose existing fossil fuel infrastructure to create green hydrogen, according to FFI.

The US Inflation Reduction Act and Canada’s 2022 Fall Economic Statement make North America one of the best places in the world to invest in green energy.

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding, FFI and Puget Sound Energy, one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest utilities, will aim to establish a framework for green hydrogen supply agreements and pursue other joint opportunities.

FFI in September reached a similar agreement to conduct studies into developing green hydrogen production in the Arab Republic of Egypt — specifically a project with a 9.2 gigawatt (GW) installed capacity.

This was preceded in March with FFI reaching a potential $50 billion green hydrogen agreement with German energy giant E.ON to produce up to five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.