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Houston group secures contract for major clean ammonia project in Louisiana

locked in

Houston global engineering firm McDermott will design a Louisiana project to produce millions of tons of clean ammonia. Image via cleanhydrogenworks.com

Houston-headquartered McDermott has received a new contract on a Louisiana clean ammonia project.

Clean energy development company Clean Hydrogen Works tapped McDermott for the front-end engineering and design contract for the Ascension Clean Energy Project. ACE — located in Ascension Parish, Louisiana — is jointly developed by CHW with strategic shareholders ExxonMobil, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Hafnia and is expected to initially produce 2.4 million metric tons per annum of clean ammonia and expand to total 7.2 million metric tons per annum production down the road.

“We are thrilled to partner with McDermott, a company renowned for its extensive experience in mega module construction, demonstrated by a remarkable track record of on-time, on-budget execution of major energy and chemicals projects," Johnny Cook, CHW senior vice president of engineering, procurement, and construction, says in a news release. "This collaboration further strengthens key competitive advantages of our project, including being a mega module capable site with ready infrastructure access to gas, shipping and CCS, an unmatched shareholder base with expertise in CCS and maritime transport, and an experienced team with demonstrated success in executing mega module projects.”

The project has carbon capture and sequestration contracts with ExxonMobil and expects regulatory approvals by early 2025. ACE is expected to reach its final investment decision by late 2025 and start production in 2029. McDermott’s Houston office will lead the project with support from its Gurugram, India, office.

“This FEED award is testament to McDermott’s industry-leading mega-module delivery and installation expertise, and the breadth of our capabilities across the energy transition,” Rob Shaul, McDermott’s senior vice president of Low Carbon Solutions, adds. “Our integrated delivery model, with self-perform construction capabilities and portfolio of McDermott-owned, globally diversified, module fabrication yards means we can offer CHW a repeatable modular implementation solution that is expected to maximize value, reduce risk and provide quality assurance.”

Earlier this year, Houston-based Element Fuels completed the pre-construction phase of its hydrogen-powered clean fuels refinery and combined-cycle power plant in the Port of Brownsville — a project that McDermott is also providing FEED services for.

Also recently, McDermott secured an agreement to work on Canada's first commercial green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.

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The facility, once completed, will be able to produce 165 kilo tons per Annum of hydrogen and 5,000 metric tons per day of ammonia. Photo via Getty Images

Houston company scores agreement to work on Canadian green hydrogen project

contract secured

Houston-headquartered McDermott has reported that it secured an agreement to work on Canada's first commercial green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.

The Early Contractor Involvement agreement is from Abraxas Power Corp. to work on the Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation (EVREC) project located in Central Newfoundland and will include developing a wind farm with up to 530 turbines that will have the ability to generate 3.5 gigawatts of electricity and 150 megawatts solar photo voltaic. Additionally, the facility, once completed, will be able to produce 165 kilo tons per Annum of hydrogen and 5,000 metric tons per day of ammonia.

"The agreement is testament to McDermott's industry-leading delivery and installation expertise, and the breadth of our capabilities across the energy transition," Rob Shaul, McDermott's senior vice president, Low Carbon Solutions, says in a news release. "Our century of experience, from concept to completion, and integrated delivery model, means we can offer Abraxas a repeatable modular implementation solution that is expected to drive cost savings, reduce risk and provide quality assurance."

Per the agreement, the company will provide front-end engineering design, engineering, procurement, and construction execution planning services, and more for the project. According to McDermott, the company's contribution to the project will be led from McDermott's Houston office with support from its office in India.

Recently, another collaboration McDermott is working on reached a new milestone. Houston-based Element Fuels has completed the pre-construction phase of its hydrogen-powered clean fuels refinery and combined-cycle power plant in the Port of Brownsville. McDermott is providing front-end engineering design services for the project.

In October, McDermott announced that it signed a lighthouse agreement with United Kingdom-based industrial software company AVEVA and Massachusetts-based product lifecycle management platform provider Aras. With the new software, McDermott plans "to develop its asset lifecycle management capability across the energy transition, oil and gas, and nuclear sectors," per the news release.

Element Fuels has designed the plant to produce and recycle hydrogen that will generate and deliver cleaner, higher-quality fuels. Photo via Getty Images

Houston clean fuels producer reaches milestone on South Texas hydrogen-powered refinery

hi to hydrogen

Houston-based Element Fuels has completed the pre-construction phase of its hydrogen-powered clean fuels refinery and combined-cycle power plant in the Port of Brownsville.

Element Fuels, which has contracted with Houston-based McDermott to provide front-end engineering design services for the project, has designed the plant to produce and recycle hydrogen that will generate and deliver cleaner, higher-quality fuels, including much-needed high-octane gasoline and electricity for commercial and consumer consumption.

“Element Fuels has received the necessary permitting to construct and operate a refinery capable of producing in excess of 160,000 barrels, or approximately 6.7 million gallons, per day of finished gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel,” Founder and Co-CEO of Element Fuels John Calce says in a news release. “A permit for a greenfield refinery of this size, scope, and functionality has not been granted in the United States since the 1970s. This speaks to the innovative approaches we are taking to address climate and sustainability concerns in cleaner, greener ways that are new to the refinery space.”

The project is expected to go online in 2027 and will produce enough low-carbon hydrogen to supply approximately 100 percent of the refinery’s fuel requirements, essentially eliminating CO2 emissions, per the news release. More than 100 megawatts of excess electricity generated from the power plant will be provided to the Energy Reliability Council of Texas for the surrounding community’s needs.

“Element Fuels is not only ushering in the next generation of clean fuels, we’re also proving that, without a doubt, there is a way to produce higher quality, cleaner, higher-octane fuels that significantly advance the energy transition," Calce continues. "This changes everything – for the industry, for consumers, and for the well-being of the planet.”

The plant is located in South Texas and built on more than 240 acres within the Port of Brownsville. Element Fuels is reportedly collaborating with local and Port officials "to advance the Justice40 initiative established by the U.S. Department of Commerce to contribute to a climate-positive environment that provides residents of the Brownsville area and Rio Grande Valley with clean energy and affordable and sustainable housing," per the release.

“Building on our successful collaboration during early project phases, we believe we are uniquely positioned to leverage our expertise and knowledge to further support Element Fuels throughout the next stages of this unique project,” adds Rob Shaul, senior vice president at Low Carbon Solutions at McDermott. “We remain focused on the delivery of low carbon pathway projects and are committed to advancing the landscape of energy production.”

Houston-based oil and gas engineering and construction services provider McDermott is making some major software changes to better operate in the ongoing energy transition. Image via mcdermott-investors.com

Houston company upgrades digital solutions with new partnerships to better address energy transition

software secured

A Houston engineering and construction solutions company serving the energy industry has announced an agreement that will introduce new software to the company's energy transition plans.

McDermott announced today that it has signed a lighthouse agreement with United Kingdom-based industrial software company AVEVA and Massachusetts-based product lifecycle management platform provider Aras. With the new software, McDermott plans "to develop its asset lifecycle management capability across the energy transition, oil and gas, and nuclear sectors," per the news release.

"McDermott is uniquely positioned to combine its extensive expertise in digital twin and industry-leading engineering procurement and construction (EPC) experience," Vaseem Khan, McDermott's senior vice president of Global Operations, says in the release. "The agreement represents our shared vision and commitment to data-centric digital deliverables management and creates an opportunity for robust digital transformation of industry processes."

The new technology should help reduce both cost and risk by improving decision-making, achieving better compliance and traceability, and enhancing performance.

"McDermott's engineering expertise forms an essential input in pioneering an industry solution that is urgently needed to improve outcomes in the energy, nuclear, marine, and other sectors," Rob McGreevy, chief product officer at AVEVA. "Together, we will provide competitive advantages for customers who join the lighthouse program."

The deal includes integrating Aras' Innovator platform with AVEVA Unified Engineering, AVEVA Asset Information Management, and other AVEVA tools and services to create, and McDermott will provide feedback and testing for its new software platforms.

"AVEVA's robust industry asset lifecycle management solutions, built on the Aras platform, will enable McDermott to leverage a fully connected digital thread of the asset's engineering and operations information," Roque Martin, CEO of Aras, says in the release. "We will create useful, usable, and powerful software for our joint customer base."

Houston-based oil and gas engineering and construction services provider McDermott outlines company's progress toward sustainability with new report. Image via mcdermott-investors.com

Houston O&G services company lays out 2022 wins in new report

report card

People. Planet. Progress. These are the first three words on the homepage for the a new report on sustainability from a Houston company.

Published this month, the 2022 Sustainability Report from McDermott — a global leader in engineering, procurement, and construction solutions for the energy industry — showcases the organization's dedication to developing sustainable solutions and innovative technologies.

"As our customers set ESG targets and work to meet and exceed their stakeholder expectations, they increasingly rely on McDermott for innovative methods and low-carbon solutions leveraging our more than 100 years of complex project experience," says Michael McKelvy, McDermott's president and CEO, in the news release. "With our customers, we are advancing global decarbonization through low-emissions options across our engineering, procurement and construction operations."

In the third annual report of its kind, McDermott highlights key climate and sustainability accomplishments achieved in 2022 in each of the three aforementioned focus areas.

People

  • Joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative to further ingrain McDermott with academic institutions collaborating to achieve net-zero targets
  • Launch of the RISE Female Development Program as part of the commitment to diversity and inclusion, and specifically, gender equality, across the organization

Planet

  • Voluntary, inaugural submission of ESG metrics to the Carbon Disclosure Project platform
  • Introduction of a new Carbon Footprint Dashboard that established a baseline against which 2023 KPIs and targets will be assessed to measure project-related emissions
  • 62 percent increase in project water reuse compared to 2020
  • Elimination of the need for plastic water bottles on all maritime fleet vessels with the introduction of onboard filtration systems

Progress

  • Awarding of Borwin6, the largest renewables energy project for McDermott to-date
  • Application of modular solution delivery practiced for over 50 years to construct and deliver Green and Blue hydrogen facilities
  • Scaling up technology for liquefied hydrogen spheres and development of fully integrated renewable and low-carbon hydrogen demonstration and framework in Texas
  • Completion of Phase 1 rollout of a vehicle utilization AI platform that measures emissions and provides fleet management teams with actionable insights

"McDermott is committed to sustainable, positive improvement in the communities where we operate, for our customers, and for our employees and the world," states Rachel Clingman, McDermott's executive vice president, sustainability, and governance in the announcement. "We matured our strategy and focus in 2022. We are aligned and working hand-in-hand with customers and stakeholders on specific plans and goals."

The 74-page report offers additional details on these initiatives, as well as commentary on the task force on climate-related financial disclosures compliance and environmental performance data for the year ended on December 31, 2022.

McDermott outlined its sustainability wins from 2022. Image via mcdermott-investors.com

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Fervo Energy selects Baker Hughes to provide supply geothermal tech for power plants

geothermal deal

Houston-based geothermal energy startup Fervo Energy has tapped Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes to supply geothermal equipment for five Fervo power plants in Utah.

The equipment will be installed at Fervo’s Cape Station geothermal power project near Milford, Utah. The project’s five second-phase, 60-megawatt plants will generate about 400 megawatts of clean energy for the grid.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

“Baker Hughes’ expertise and technology are ideal complements to the ongoing progress at Cape Station, which has been under construction and successfully meeting project milestones for almost two years,” says Tim Latimer, co-founder and CEO of Fervo. “Fervo designed Cape Station to be a flagship development that's scalable, repeatable, and a proof point that geothermal is ready to become a major source of reliable, carbon-free power in the U.S.”

Cape Station is permitted to deliver about two gigawatts of geothermal power. The first phase of the project will supply 100 megawatts of power to the grid beginning in 2026. The second phase is scheduled to come online by 2028.

“Geothermal power is one of several renewable energy sources expanding globally and proving to be a vital contributor to advancing sustainable energy development,” Baker Hughes Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli says. “By working with a leader like Fervo Energy and leveraging our comprehensive portfolio of technology solutions, we are supporting the scaling of lower-carbon power solutions that are integral to meet growing global energy demand.”

Founded in 2017, Fervo is now a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company has surpassed $1 billion. In March, Axios reported Fervo is targeting a $2 billion to $4 billion valuation in an IPO.

Over the course of eight years, Fervo has raised almost $1 billion in capital, including equity and debt financing. This summer, the company secured a $205.5 million round of capital.

Houston-area sustainable steel company emerges from stealth with $17M in VC funding

heavy metals

Conroe-based Hertha Metals, a producer of substantial steel, has hauled in more than $17 million in venture capital from Khosla Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Fellows, Pear VC, Clean Energy Ventures and other investors.

The money has been put toward the construction and the launch of its 1-metric-ton-per-day pilot plant in Conroe, where its breakthrough in steelmaking has been undergoing tests. The company uses a single-step process that it claims is cheaper, more energy-efficient and equally as scalable as conventional steelmaking methods. The plant is fueled by natural gas or hydrogen.

The company, founded in 2022, plans to break ground early next year on a new plant. The facility will be able to produce more than 9,000 metric tons of steel per year.

Hertha said in a news release that its process, which converts low-grade iron ore into molten steel or high-purity iron, “doesn’t just materially lower cost and energy use — it fundamentally expands our capacity to produce iron and steel at scale, by unlocking a wider range of iron ore feedstocks.”

Laureen Meroueh, founder and CEO of Hertha, says the company’s process will fill a gap in U.S. steel production.

“We’re not just reinventing steelmaking; we’re redefining what’s possible in materials, manufacturing, and national resilience,” Meroueh says.

Hertha says it’s in talks with magnet producers — which make permanent magnets and magnetic assemblies from raw materials such as iron — to become a U.S. supplier of high-purity iron. In its next stage of growth, Hertha will aim to operate at a capacity of 500,000 metric tons of steel production per year.

The company won the Department of Energy's Summer Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Startup Pitch Competition last summer. Read more here.

Houston foundation doles out $700K for Texas chemical research

fresh funding

Houston-based The Welch Foundation has issued $700,000 in additional funding to support chemical research through two of its newest grant programs.

The foundation has named the recipients of its Welch eXperimental (WelchX) Collaboration Retreat and Pilot Grants and the Welch Postdoctoral Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation Grants.

The WelchX grants were awarded to teams of two Texas researchers who presented "innovative and collaborative ideas" addressing challenges in the clean energy space, according to the foundation.

Researchers from Texas universities gathered in Houston earlier this summer to discuss the theme “Chemical Research for Grand Challenges." They then paired off into nine teams and submitted proposals for the $100,000 pilot grants. The seven selected teams, several with ties to Houston, and their research topics include:

  • Yimo Han, Rice University, and Yuanyue Liu, The University of Texas at Austin, “Stabilizing Copper Electrocatalysts for CO2 Conversion”
  • Ognjen Miljanic, University of Houston, and Indrajit Srivastava, Texas Tech University, “Ping-Pong' Afterglow Luminescence in Self-Assembled Molecular Cubes”
  • Raúl Hernández Sánchez, Rice University, and Andy Thomas, Texas A&M University, “Accelerating Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent Discovery via Rapid Injection NMR: Improving the Detection of Lithium for Disease Diagnostics”
  • Benjamin Janesko, Texas Christian University, and MD Masud Rana, Lamar University, “Cyber Twin Chemical Ensembles for Near-Infrared-Emitting Graphene Quantum Dot Therapeutics”
  • Ivan Korendovych, Baylor University, and Dino Villagrán, The University of Texas at El Paso, “Selective Bio-Inspired Electrochemical Probes for PFAS Analysis and Degradation”
  • Samantha Kristufek, Texas Tech University, and Kayla Green, Texas Christian University, “CIRCUIT: Critical Ion Recovery using Conductive and Ultrafiltration Intelligent Technology”
  • Fang Xu, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Hong Wang, University of North Texas, “Visualize Molecular Adsorption on Supported Ni-porphyrin Model Catalysts via Substitute Effect”

The Welch Postdoctoral Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation provides three-year fellowships to recent PhD graduates to support clinical research careers in Texas.

The foundation previously announced that it would name fellows from Rice University and Baylor University who would receive $100,000 annually for three years. This year's recipients and their research topics include:

  • Teng Yuan, Rice University, “Unlocking New Chemistry of Nonheme Iron Enzymes for α-Amino Acids and γ-Lactones Synthesis”
  • Katelyn Baumler, Baylor University, "Crystal Growth of Ln2Fe4Sb5 Phases Toward the Study of Novel Quantum Properties”

“As these programs become more established, it is thrilling to see the new research our awardees are exploring,” Adam Kuspa, president of The Welch Foundation, said in a news release. “The Foundation is very pleased by the applications that we continue to receive describing exciting new research projects to advance chemical research.”

This additional funding comes on the heels of the foundation doling out $27 million for chemical research, equipment and postdoctoral fellowships earlier this summer. The foundation made 85 grants to faculty at 16 Texas institutions at the time. Read more here.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, Innovationmap.com.

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