The Beehive State is a land of incredible natural beauty and fascinating history. The state’s name is derived from the Native American Ute tribe, meaning “people of the mountains.” The state has also been hiding the biggest treasure of all time, and it’s all below its Salt Caverns. This treasure aids in the global attempt to decarbonize sectors such as industry and transportation.
This has been hidden below the Salt Caverns
A strategic partnership between Mitsubishi Power Americas, the creator of power-generation equipment, and Magnum Development, a developer of fuel-storage caverns, led to the launch of the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project. The project will boast the world’s largest industry- and utility-scale clean hydrogen production and storage facility near Delta, Utah.
The partnership saw potential in Utah’s underground salt caverns and bountiful sun and wind. Salt caverns have long been utilized as underground fossil fuel storage, with the U.S. government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve being a well-known example. But this project is expected to bring carbon-free, reliable electricity to millions instead.
ACES Delta will use renewable energy to create carbon-free hydrogen from water, through electrolysis, and then store it in two salt caverns carved out of the massive salt dome that lies below Delta, Utah. Once built, it will be the largest hydrogen storage facility in the world.
Clean hydrogen is the biggest treasure of all time
In modern days, the biggest treasure of all time is hydrogen, which has become one of the primary elements in approaches to decarbonizing industry and transportation sectors, which struggle with significant CO₂ emissions. As emission-intensive procedures still dominate sectors, various companies have started endeavors to enhance clean hydrogen production and have enjoyed substantial success along the road.
This is why the ACES Delta project is so significant, as the area can produce large amounts of renewable energy in the windy and sunny seasons, more than what can be stored in traditional batteries. The ACES Delta project solves what seems like a challenge in the cloudy winter months and summer heat waves. In such times, the project can store the energy in the form of clean hydrogen and then convert it back into electricity to satisfy the power demand.
Clean hydrogen production from renewable energies is more expensive than making it from fossil-fuel sources. This is where the project’s storage capability is also beneficial and cost-effective. The project’s salt caverns will be able to hold up to 11 million kilograms of hydrogen for extended periods, at low cost, before it is converted again. It is much more beneficial when compared to lithium-ion batteries, which can store excess renewable power only for shorter periods.
Key role players are backing clean hydrogen
Key roleplayers, such as Ontario Teachers’, invested in ACES Delta in 2022. The ACES Delta project is also funded by the US Government, which invested US$500 million in support. The project also benefits its big utility customer, the Intermountain Power Agency, which provides electricity to sections across the Western US, including six cities in heavily populated Southern California.
The IPA also plans to retire its coal-fired electricity production units in Delta in 2025 and initiate electricity production from units that can run on a combination of natural gas and hydrogen alongside the ACES Delta project. IPA’s long-term goal is to produce electricity with 100% hydrogen from ACES Delta.
The biggest treasure of all time might not have been what the world expected, but it certainly is what the world needs. Producing and storing clean hydrogen below the Utah Salt Caverns is a major step in the right, eco-friendly direction. The initiative plays an essential role in the global attempt to decarbonize the world. We hope this initiative inspires other similar facilities to roll out across the US in the future.