The old adage that necessity is the mother of invention might very well describe efforts now moving forward in Wyoming. Wyoming is by far the largest coal-producing state in the U.S.; however, with the global pressure on coal energy production due to CO2 emissions reduction goals, Wyoming’s largest industry, mineral extraction, has been losing jobs since its peak 15 years ago. In an innovative project announced in January 2024, steam generation and clean energy technologies company Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) and energy producer Black Hills Energy are partnering to develop a commercial-scale facility in Gillette, Wyoming. This facility will turn coal into clean hydrogen fuel and capture and sequester the CO2 generated in the process while supporting Wyoming’s largest industry. 

The plant, to be built near Black Hills Energy’s Neil Simpson Power Station, will use B&W’s patented BrightLoop™ chemical looping technology to produce 15 metric tons of clean hydrogen per day using Powder River Basin coal supplied by the nearby Wyodak mine. They aim to do it cost-competitively, at a lower cost than other methods of clean hydrogen generation.

The companies recently announced the award of a $16 million matching funds grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority to fund permitting, engineering, and development activities of the BrightLoop facility. The funding underpins the state of Wyoming’s recognition of the tremendous positive impact of decarbonization and confirms its willingness to promote and support the development of a diverse set of technologies and solutions that can help meet environmental objectives while ensuring that coal-dependent local economies can continue to grow and prosper.  

The project is great news for Wyoming, which provides more than 41% of the nation’s coal supply – including 244 million short tons in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  Thousands of Wyomingites are employed in the coal industry through mining, transporting, and generating power with coal, and the state has a vested interest in preserving this industry, even as it sets ambitious CO2 emissions reduction goals.  

Wyoming is not the only state with resources and heavy economic investments in coal and other fossil fuels. Others, like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, are feeling the economic pinch as low- and zero-carbon energy alternatives like solar, wind, and hydropower move to the forefront, endangering thousands of jobs in the process. 

Despite high expectations of green energy job creation, these jobs have not yet materialized in the numbers anticipated. The country needs power, and with thousands of people employed in the coal industry, whether through mining, transporting, or electricity generation, coal states have vested interests in preserving the industry – at the very least to support the energy transition and ensure reliable power is available while the country and the world moves toward ambitious CO2 emissions reduction goals.   

B&W’s BrightLoop technology holds the potential to revolutionize the coal economy, simultaneously producing hydrogen and sequestering or utilizing the resulting CO2. The widespread adoption of BrightLoop would not only safeguard against further job losses in the coal industry but would also create new jobs in hydrogen and associated industries.  
Benefits of BrightLoop 

Chemical Looping Technology
The BrightLoop process uses a proprietary, regenerable particle and has been demonstrated to effectively separate CO2 while producing hydrogen and steam. BrightLoop has several benefits over other hydrogen generation alternatives:

• Produces hydrogen from multiple feedstocks – BrightLoop can use a variety of solid and gaseous fuels as feedstock in the chemical looping process to produce a stream of hydrogen separate from a stream of CO2, reducing the amount of energy and fuel required to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbons and doing so more efficiently and affordably than incumbent hydrogen technologies paired with carbon capture.
• Competitive cost – BrightLoop chemical looping can produce low-carbon hydrogen at a cost lower than current large-scale hydrogen generation technologies such as steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture or electrolysis.
• High rate of CO2 capture – Generally, BrightLoop has a much lower Carbon Intensity (CI) score compared to other hydrogen production methods when combined with carbon capture due to the inherent separation of CO2 and the wide range of feedstocks available.  
• Scalable for a range of applications – BrightLoop is scalable to accommodate small, medium, and large applications, such as local production for transportation, centralized hydrogen hub facilities, and industrial uses.

How BrightLoop Works
BrightLoop’s chemical looping process is based on the oxidation and reduction of a proprietary oxygen-carrier particle. The feedstock reacts with oxygen-carrier particles in a fuel reactor, forming reaction products that are predominantly CO2, while reducing the oxygen-carrier particles. 

The reduced oxygen-carrier particles then move to a hydrogen reactor where they react with steam to partially oxidize the particles and generate a stream of hydrogen. This reaction means that the hydrogen is produced directly from the steam, rather than through separation from other constituents of the feedstock.

The oxygen-carrier particles are then transported to an air reactor where they are regenerated with air back to their original state in a heat-generating reaction. The fully regenerated particles are then returned to the fuel reactor to continue the “loop” process.  The BrightLoop process can be used to produce not only hydrogen but also excess steam for process or electricity generation.

What Comes Next 
The first phase of the Wyoming project is currently underway as B&W works to complete the upfront design and lay the plant’s foundations. The second phase –currently anticipated to start in 2025 – will include the construction of the facility.

The BrightLoop facility will supply hydrogen to the adjacent Neil Simpson complex to reduce its carbon footprint while it generates power. B&W and Black Hills Energy also anticipate that the facility will be capable of providing up to 340 metric tons-per-day of CO2 to nearby coal bed methane or enhanced oil recovery operations.  

Upon successfully demonstrating the facility, B&W and Black Hills Energy intend to develop a larger-scale project to produce up to 200 metric tons per day of hydrogen, further lowering the Neil Simpson complex’s carbon intensity.

The BrightLoop process has other upsides beyond the obvious environmental and climate benefits of producing zero-carbon hydrogen. Because water is in short supply in Wyoming and other Western and Southwestern states, producing hydrogen from renewables like wind and solar using electrolysis (splitting water molecules to unlock the H2 from the O) or steam methane reforming (SMR) is often a non-starter or would be cost-prohibitive. The BrightLoop process is far more efficient in its water use and even captures water from the feedstock during the oxidation/reduction reactions.

When CO2 is captured, hydrogen produced with the BrightLoop process qualifies as net zero-CO2 or, in some cases, net-negative CO2. The resulting clean hydrogen can be used in tandem with hydrogen produced by non-CO2-negative methods to offset a portion of those emissions and help plant owners qualify for low-carbon incentives from state and federal authorities.

As B&W and Black Hills Energy move toward making hydrogen production from coal with carbon capture a reality in Wyoming, the stage is being set for others that are looking to preserve jobs and keep communities vital. BrightLoop offers the chance to keep coal as part of our nation’s energy mix while forging a path for coal states and communities to participate in the rapidly growing hydrogen and clean energy economies. 
 

Author: Brandy Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Babcock & Wilcox
The claims and statements made in this article belong exclusively to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carbon Capture Magazine or its advertisers. All questions pertaining to this article should be directed to the author(s).

Article published in Issue 1, 2024 Carbon Capture Magazine