PowerTap Hydrogen Capital Corp has announced that its 49%-owned subsidiary, AES-100 Inc, a leading clean hydrogen technology company, has initiated design and development activities for a green-hydrogen home power unit.
The company said the unit is being sized for applications to meet the needs of average North American households, revolutionizing green power production.
It noted that the global addressable market for hydrogen is estimated to be about US$150 billion at present but is estimated to reach over US$600 billion by 2050. With nearly 140 million homes in the US alone, the market opportunity is both tremendous and transformative, it added.
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AES will initially focus on commercialization in states such as California with excess green electricity that is routinely curtailed, which is expensive to ratepayers.
“This wasted green electricity could otherwise mitigate the need for fossil-fueled energy that generates harmful greenhouse gases,” the company said.
“The AES technology provides a bridge between the day-time excess green electricity and the evening-time shortage when solar energy is not available.”
PowerTap said the beneficial deployment of the AES technology for home power will expedite green hydrogen as a viable fuel source while stabilizing the power grid to permit greater penetration of renewables such as solar and wind. It is designed to leverage existing infrastructure, while saving billions in taxpayer investment, making it a win/win for both the government and public alike, the company added.
The home power unit is much smaller - typically a few kilowatts (kW) in size - and does not require extensive scale-up efforts that are needed for larger units for industrial applications in megawatt (MW) size. AES anticipates a much shorter development timeline for the home power unit - around half the time required for its development of the anticipated industrial-sized AES units.
The company said this means that AES units offering green hydrogen to the home can be in the market sooner and at a much lower capital investment. It will begin its beneficial contributions in solving the world’s pressing climate change problems sooner, and will also provide a valuable foundation for larger size industrial applications with a reduced risk for associated capital investment.
"This fast-track approach will bring AES technology from research to reality sooner,” AES CEO Pinakin Patel said in a statement.
“It promises earlier return on our investment at lower risk. We are very excited to see an accelerated path to commercialization."
PowerTap Hydrogen Capital, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp., is focused on installing hydrogen production and dispensing fueling infrastructure in the US.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com