onto the next step

Houston company gets greenlight for liquid hydrogen storage system

CB&I got the approval it was looking for on its cargo containment system for liquid hydrogen. Photo courtesy

CB&I, the storage business of Houston-based energy contractor McDermott International, has gotten a preliminary green light for its design of a cargo containment system for liquid hydrogen.

DNV, a classification body for the maritime industry, extended the preliminary approval for the system’s design. CB&I is working on the project with Shell International Trading and Shipping, which transports crude oil, gas, carbon dioxide, and other cargo.

The Shell transportation unit operates the Suiso Frontier, the world’s first ship for hauling liquid hydrogen (LH2). The vessel can carry 75 metric tons of LH2. The Suiso Frontier, which completed its maiden voyage between Australia and Japan in 2022, is the key component of a $360 million coal-to-hydrogen venture.

CB&I designs and builds storage facilities, tanks, and terminals for energy companies. McDermott provides engineering and construction services for the energy industry.

Cesar Canals, senior vice president of CB&I, says his company’s collaboration with Shell and DNV is “making large-scale liquid hydrogen storage and transport more economical. This approval is a major milestone in making this groundbreaking technology available to all companies looking to build LH2 carriers, and we look forward to the possibilities this brings to advancing the hydrogen energy supply chain.”

The containment system’s design is based on CB&I’s technology for onshore storage of LH2. Over the past 60 years, CB&I has designed and built more than 130 onshore storage tanks for LH2.

“The combined cargo containment system and hull design effort aims to address the energy density challenge, benefitting from LH2’s properties and achieving more energy onboard,” says CB&I. “The cargo containment system was integrated into a concept vessel design developed by Houlder, which includes a hull that is optimized for the low-density cargo around … three large tanks.”

Today, LH2 is transported primarily via trucks and pipelines. The Getting to Zero Coalition, a proponent of zero-emission vessels, says the Suiso Frontier represents the first step toward commercializing a global LH2 supply chain by 2030.

“Maritime distribution of hydrogen promises much more flexible energy transfer than transmission of electricity generated from renewables, especially for longer distances,” according to a sponsored article published by Nature.com.

Trending News

A View From HETI

Al Vickers, XGS Energy's new COO, and Richard Chong, the company's new CFO. Photos courtesy XGS/LinkedIn

XGS Energy, a Houston-based developer of geothermal power systems, has added several energy industry veterans to its C-suite this summer.

The company named Al Vickers as its new chief operating officer earlier this month. Vickers will replace Ghazal Izadi in the role, as she moves into the chief growth officer position.

Vickers previously served as CEO of bp's U.S. Low Carbon Energy business and most recently was COO of Houston-based Grid United, which develops next-generation transmission infrastructure.

“I have spent my career developing, building, and operating large, complex energy infrastructure, and I am excited to work with XGS’s proven technology, which is ready to deliver clean, round-the-clock power at the scale the grid and customers need,” Vickers said in a news release. “XGS sits at the intersection of innovation, affordability, demand growth, responsible infrastructure development, and long-term energy resilience. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and apply best practices from both oil and gas and infrastructure development to deliver gigawatt-scale geothermal projects.”

Kurt Fricker, who most recently held leadership roles at Hess Corporation, was also announced as XGS's new chief procurement officer.

The hires come shortly after XGS announced Richard Chong as its new chief financial officer in May.

Chong joins XGS from Houston-based power producer Calpine, where he most recently was vice president of finance. His work there included leading $2.25 billion in financing for Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal power complex.

Chong says XGS’ proven technology and the rising demand for clean power will help the company execute on its multi-gigawatt pipeline.

“I look forward to applying the experience I’ve built over two decades in energy finance to help XGS deliver clean, reliable power to customers and unlock the massive development opportunity ahead for next-generation geothermal,” Chong said in the release.

XGS’ first project is a 150-megawatt geothermal facility in New Mexico. It will supply around-the-clock electricity to the grid operated by Public Service Co. of New Mexico in support of Meta data centers.

XGS recently tapped Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes to provide engineering services for the New Mexico project.

XGS’ geothermal system uses thermally conductive materials to deliver affordable energy anywhere hot rock exists — without the need for water resources or specific geological conditions. This results in lower-risk projects, more site options, easier permitting and faster deployment.

Since 2023, XGS has raised nearly $57 million in venture capital.

XGS launched in 2008 in Palo Alto, California, as Geothermic Solution. In conjunction with its Series A round in 2023, the company rebranded to its current name. The company recently moved its headquarters to Houston, according to the Houston Business Journal.

Trending News