US-based oil major Chevron has announced that it is becoming the majority owner of a large facility for producing and storing hydrogen.

The company’s Chevron New Energies sector agreed a deal with Haddington Ventures to purchase Magnum Development, which in turn gives it a leading interest in the facility to be constructed in Delta, Utah.

Speaking for Chevron, which also makes the Texaco coolant and lubricant products, Austin Knight said:

“As we continue to pursue lower carbon energy solutions, we are excited to move forward with the Advanced Clean Energy Storage hydrogen project, through our acquisition of Magnum Development and partnership with Mitsubishi Power, to build on Chevron’s 75-year history in Utah.”

He added that the company and its partners would endeavour to ensure that the platform will deliver clean, affordable and reliable energy to help their customers realise their own low-carbon ambitions.

According to the plans, electrolysis will be used at the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project to transform renewable energy into green hydrogen. To cope with seasonal demand, hydrogen will be stored in solution-mined salt caverns ready for dispatch. The first project is already under construction and expected to become operational at a commercial scale in the middle of 2025, expected to produce and store hydrogen at a rate of 100 metric tons per day.

Green hydrogen is seen as an important part of the UK’s future energy mix, with a number of projects having been shortlisted for Government funding.