US firms claim world first with coal-to-hydrogen power conversion

Technology to repurpose coal-fired plant to run on 100pc blue hydrogen

Two US companies have embarked on a project to repurpose a retired coal-fired power station in New Mexico to run on 100pc blue hydrogen, in what they say will be the first large-scale conversion of its type. Technology firm Newpoint Gas and carbon sequestration specialist Brooks Energy aim to convert the 253MW Escalante power plant in Prewitt to run as a zero-emissions dispatchable baseload generator on blue hydrogen produced from natural gas via a methane reformer. A carbon capture facility at the site will remove the CO2 pre-combustion. “We see the Escalante project as a good transition to green hydrogen” Rhodes, Newpoint Gas The conversion will be based on Newpoint’s technology, t