ABB and Hydrogen Optimized Inc partnership for hydrogen advancement
ABB Ltd
ABB and Hydrogen Optimized Inc. (HOI), a Canadian technology pioneer enabling large-scale green hydrogen production, have inked an agreement to expand their current strategic partnership.
ABB has invested in Key DH Technologies Inc., the parent company of HOI, as they want to boost the rapidly developing green hydrogen production market with innovative large-scale architecture. The agreement's financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement comes after the two companies showcased their green hydrogen technology at the German-Canadian Atlantic Renewable Hydrogen Expo in Stephenville, Newfoundland, on August 23, 2022, which was attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Hydrogen produced with low-to-zero CO2 emissions is widely acknowledged as crucial to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
By speeding up the strategic partnership that ABB and HOI started in 2020, the two companies are moving forward with the deployment of economic, large-scale green hydrogen production systems to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries that meet a wide range of essential needs, such as energy, metals, cement, utilities, ammonia, fertilisers, and fuels for aircraft, ships, trucks, and trains.
The companies will work together to quickly bring HOI's patented RuggedCell™ high-power water electrolysis technology to market for the world's biggest green hydrogen plants. Using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen is the process of electrolysis. RuggedCell™ technology turns electricity from sources like hydro, solar, and wind into green hydrogen that can be used in industry.
Joachim Braun, Division President, ABB Process Industries, said:
"We look forward to building on our companies’ two-year working relationship to pursue the enormous global opportunity of green hydrogen. Following a rigorous validation of the RuggedCell™ technology, we are confident that, in combination with ABB’s high-power rectifiers, it can become a category leader in the large-scale green hydrogen segment. Our complementary technologies will strengthen the Hydrogen Optimised value proposition and fast-track the commercialisation of the RuggedCell™.”
Andrew T. B. Stuart, President and CEO of KEY and HOI, said:
"This agreement positions us for success in the large-scale segment with customers requiring installations in the hundreds of megawatts to multi-gigawatts. ABB’s global footprint, commercial relationships, and technology leadership in high-power rectifiers, distributed control systems, and manufacturing automation provide us with the market reach and capabilities to achieve our company’s goals.”
DNV says in a report from June 2022 that the world's electrolyser capacity will reach 3,100 gigawatts by 2050. The group thinks that green hydrogen made from electricity will be the most common way to make hydrogen by the middle of this century, making up 72 per cent of all hydrogen made.
The proceeds of ABB's investment in KEY, led by ATV, will be used to improve HOI's intellectual property development, strengthen corporate capabilities for expanded business activity, and introduce automated manufacturing and robotics. This will accelerate the production of gigawatt-scale electrolysers.
Source: ABB
