Houston energy company's European arm enters into offshore carbon storage project

teaming up

Fidelis New Energy's newly announced Norne Carbon Storage Hub in Denmark has announced a new customer. Photo courtesy of Fidelis

A Houston company has signed onto an offshore carbon storage deal in Denmark.

Fidelis New Energy Europe, the European arm of Houston-headquartered Fidelis New Energy, and Norway-based Carbon Centric have signed a letter of intent for Fidelis recently announced Norne Carbon Storage Hub in Denmark. With the agreement, Norne will "safely and permanently store CO2 emissions of Carbon Centric's clients," according to a news release.

"Norne enables the safe and environmentally friendly decarbonization of key segments of the Danish and European economies while ensuring industries remain globally competitive due to the low overall costs of CO2 mitigation," Bengt Jarlsjo, co-founder, president, and COO of Fidelis, says in a news release. "This announcement with Carbon Centric is an important milestone for the decarbonization of Denmark and Northern Europe. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Carbon Centric."

Carbon Centric plans to store around 800,000 tons of CO2 annually with Norne by 2027, according to the release, and the company's CO2 will be moved to Fidelis' CO2 reception facility at the Port of Aalborg. Carbon Centric has carbon management already underway in Norway and Iceland, with others planned in Denmark and Sweden.

"At Carbon Centric we have been looking for a company like Fidelis that will be able to ensure cost-effective large scale carbon storage for our clients. Norne is visionary with its ability to scale up quickly and will allow us to build out our businesses together," Kenneth Juul, Carbon Centric chief commercial officer and co-founder, says in the release. "With Denmark's foresight of moving quickly toward onshore carbon storage and with Fidelis' plans and prior three years of work on the Norne vision to provide carbon storage solutions on both Jutland and Zealand, we see a great opportunity to expand our activities in Denmark."

Carbon Centric is just the latest customer for the Norne Carbon Storage Hub, which was announced in May by Fidelis. The facility is billed as being "safe, ESG-friendly, and economically advantaged." The hub reportedly aims to store more than 20 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030.

Earlier this month, Fidelis New Energy selected Mason County, West Virginia selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the site for its carbon neutral hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid — The Mountaineer GigaSystem and the Monarch Cloud Campus for data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen.

This major project will include net-zero hydrogen production to be used onsite to fuel a microgrid, greenhouses, and more. Image courtesy of Fidelis New Energy

Houston company selects site for net-zero hydrogen production facility, low-carbon microgrid

major move

A Houston-based energy transition infrastructure firm has announced where it's planning to build a multiple-phase project that will produce carbon-neutral hydrogen and run a low-carbon microgrid.

Fidelis New Energy selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the site for its carbon neutral hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid —The Mountaineer GigaSystem and the Monarch Cloud Campus for data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen.

The facility will be using the company's the proprietary tech, called the FidelisH2, that produces hydrogen using "a combination of natural gas, renewable energy, and carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration," according to a news release.

The four-phase project is estimated to cost $2 billion per phase and will produce over 500 metric tons per day of net-zero carbon hydrogen. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2028.

"I am beyond excited that West Virginia will be the home of the Mountaineer GigaSystem and Monarch Cloud Campus," West Virginia Governor Jim Justice says in a news release. "West Virginia has a long history as an energy powerhouse for our nation, thanks to our hardworking people who know how to get the job done. And now, we're in a great position to make the most of a new fuel – hydrogen – through this incredible project in Mason County.

"There's simply no doubt that Fidelis is going to help shape the future of West Virginia in a major, major way by assisting in the commercial lift-off of some truly exciting new industries," he continues.

The project includes an incentive package from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.

"The project's four-phase construction plan will not only provide substantial employment opportunities for the local workforce, with 800 full-time jobs and 4,200 construction workers, but it will also have a major positive impact on the region's economy," John Musgrave, the executive director of the Mason County Development Authority, says in the release. "The influx of workers and the establishment of the facility will bring additional business, industry, and new technology to Mason County, the state, and the surrounding region."

In addition to the hydrogen-producing FidelisH2 tool, Fidelis's suite of technologies includes H2PowerCool, which powers and cools data centers, and CO2PowerGrow, which is used for greenhouses to decarbonize and lower the cost of food production.

The new collaborative project is a rising amid the region's bid in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for the regional clean hydrogen hub Funding Opportunity Announcement. The bid, called the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2, was submitted earlier this year by a multi-state effort.

"Our proprietary net-zero solutions using only proven technologies are attracting significant commercial interest from hydrogen users, data center operators, and greenhouse owners," Bengt Jarlsjo, co-founder, president, and COO at Fidelis, says in the release. "This helps the ARCH2 hub to achieve scale across the hydrogen lifecycle from production through consumption."

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1PointFive signs latest deal, shares update on $1.3B carbon removal project

DAC deal

Houston-based 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., has secured another buyer of carbon dioxide removal credits for its $1.3 billion STRATOS project as it moves toward operation.

Bain & Company, a Boston-based consulting firm, has agreed to purchase 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits from the direct air capture (DAC) facility over three years, according to a news release. DAC technology pulls CO2 from the air at any location, not just where carbon dioxide is emitted.

The deal is Bain's first purchase of DAC removal credits. The company has developed a program that helps clients purchase carbon credits from a range of carbon-removal technologies.

"We are proud to partner with 1PointFive and add them to our portfolio of engineered carbon removal technologies," Sam Israelit, Bain’s chief sustainability officer, said in the news release. "Their track record for developing DAC technology, coupled with their deep understanding of what it takes to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects, uniquely positions them to be a leader in this emerging segment.”

“We believe this agreement demonstrates continued momentum for the solution while supporting the development of vital domestic infrastructure,” Anthony Cottone, president and general manager of 1PointFive, added in the release.

Bain joins others like Microsoft, Amazon, AT&T, Airbus, the Houston Astros and the Houston Texans that have agreed to buy CDR credits from STRATOS.

The Texas-based STRATOS project is being developed through a joint venture with investment manager BlackRock and is designed to capture up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency approved Class VI permits for the project last year.

1PointFive says STRATOS is "progressing through start-up activities." The company shared in a LinkedIn post that Phase 1 of the project is expected to go online in Q2, with Phase 2 ramping up through the remainder of 2026.

Houston researcher develops efficient method to cool AI data centers

cool findings

A University of Houston professor has developed a new cooling method that can remove heat at least three times more effectively from AI data centers than current technologies.

Hadi Ghasemi, a distinguished professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at UH, published his findings in two articles in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. The findings solve a critical issue in the growing AI sector, according to UH.

High-powered AI data centers generate huge amounts of heat due to the GPU and operating systems they use with extreme power densities, which introduce complex thermal challenges. Traditionally, cooling methods, like microchannels, which use flow and spray cooling, have had limitations when exposed to extreme heat flux, according to UH.

Ghasemi’s research, however, found a more effective way to design thin-film evaporation structures to release heat from data centers and electronics at record performance.

Ghasem’s solution coupled topology optimization and AI modeling to determine the best shapes for thin film efficiency, ultimately landing on a branch-like structure—resembling a tree.

The model found that the “branches” needed to be about 50 percent solid and 50 percent empty space for optimum efficiency, and that they could sustain high heat fluxes with minimal thermal resistance.

“These structures could achieve high critical heat flux at much lower superheat compared to traditionally studied structures,” Ghasemi said in a news release. “The new structures can remove heat without having to get as hot as previous removal systems.

Ghasemi’s doctoral candidates, Amirmohammad Jahanbakhsh and Saber Badkoobeh Hezave, also worked on the project. The team believes their results show the impact of a physics-aware, AI design and can help ensure reliability, longevity and stability of AI data centers.

“Beyond achieving record performance, these new findings provide fundamental insight into the governing heat-transfer physics and establishes a rational pathway toward even higher thermal dissipation capacities,” Ghasemi added in the release

Texas federal judge allows lawsuit against California AG over ExxonMobil remarks

In the News

A federal judge in Texas ruled that ExxonMobil can bring a defamation lawsuit against California’s attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts.

U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling in February that California Attorney General Rob Bonta cannot claim official immunity in regards to several statements he made, including one in a campaign email sent to Texas residents.

Bonta sued Exxon in September 2024, saying that the oil giant encouraged consumers to purchase plastics products with the promise that the products would be recycled. He said less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product, and that recycling processes touted by Exxon don't work. Exxon said the problem is with California's recycling system.

Exxon later sued Bonta in his individual capacity and environmental groups for defamation, saying that the comments harmed current and future business contracts. The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near its principal place of business.

Truncale dismissed the lawsuit against the environmental groups but allowed it to proceed against Bonta.

The judge pointed to a campaign email Bonta sent to Texas residents saying that only 5% is recycled and the rest ends up in the environment and in our bodies: “Exxon Mobil knew, and Exxon Mobil lied.” Bonta, a Democrat, argued he was simply updating email recipients on his office's activities.

But Truncale said a campaign contribution link on the email turned the communication into a campaign activity not protected by immunity in Bonta's official capacity as attorney general.

“Here, the contribution request betrays the email's true nature: a campaign promotion. Campaigning is not within Bonta's scope of employment,” the judge wrote.

Bonta has filed a notice of appeal.

“The Attorney General looks forward to vigorously litigating this case, and is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil,” his press office said.

ExxonMobil said in a statement that the “campaign of lies designed to derail our advanced recycling business must stop.”

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