TotalEnergies, TES plan large-scale syn gas production

TotalEnergies and Tree Energy Solutions (TES), a green energy company, plan to develop a large-scale production unit in the United States for e-natural gas (e-NG), a synthetic gas produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2.

An image of a proposed Trees Energy Solutions (TES) facility. TES is joining forces with TotalEnergies to study and develop a large-scale production unit in the United States for e-natural gas (e-NG), a synthetic gas produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2. (Image: TES)

The project, which is expected to produce 100,000 to 200,000 metric tons of e-NG per year, will be equally owned by the partners and operated by TotalEnergies. This partnership combines TES’ e-NG know-how with TotalEnergies’ expertise in renewable power generation, large-scale project management and natural gas liquefaction, the companies said.

The e-NG will be produced in two steps:

• To produce renewable hydrogen, a 1 GW electrolyzer will be powered by approximately 2 GW of wind and solar energy supplied by TotalEnergies through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
• This renewable hydrogen will then be combined with biogenic CO2 to obtain the e-NG.

The resulting e-NG produced can be transported and/or liquefied, then sold like natural gas, using existing infrastructure, and end customers will be able to use it without any adaptation to their facilities, the companies said.

TotalEnergies and TES will carry out the preliminary studies and aim to reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2024. The project is expected to benefit from tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

“This synthetic fuel will contribute to the energy transition by helping our customers to decarbonize their activities, notably the ones that are difficult to electrify,” said Stéphane Michel, President, Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies. “This product presents two significant advantages. First, it does not require any new logistical infrastructure since e-NG and natural gas have the same properties and can therefore be mixed in existing infrastructures. Second, our customers will not have to change their current industrial processes.

“The United States has many advantages for the development of our first e-NG project, including well-developed gas infrastructure, growing renewable power generation capacity, and significant public subsidies.”

A location for the project was not disclosed.

“The strategic cooperation with TotalEnergies is an important milestone towards large-scale e-NG production. Our purpose and vision are to accelerate the race to zero emissions and the development of hydrogen. The innovative business model developed by TES will help to diversify the European and Asian energy mix, making affordable renewable energy available. This groundbreaking project testifies to the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States. Today’s announcement confirms that cooperation among all players is what will make the energy transition possible,” said Marco Alverà, Chief Executive Officer of TES.