MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron and other partners said they are investing in a startup to build modular waste-to-green hydrogen and renewable synthetic fuel facilities in northern California with tentative plans to eventually grow worldwide, reported S&P Global.
The USD20 million investment in Wyoming-based Raven SR is focused on technology to develop combustion-free, green hydrogen for transportation that is cleaner than so-called blue hydrogen derived from natural gas.
Unlike alternative approaches to waste disposal, such as incineration or gasification, Raven touts a steam and carbon dioxide reformation process that does not involve any combustion, purportedly reducing emissions and producing more green hydrogen per ton of waste than competing processes.
The goal also is to utilize the technology to produce more synthetic liquid fuels, including diesel and jet fuel, as well as other additives and solvents, such as naphtha, and even some electricity via microturbines. Further decarbonizing the production of jet fuel is a key goal, Raven said, to help combat climate change.
Other project partners include New York-based Hyzon Motors, Japan's Itochu Corp. and the Ascent Hydrogen Fund. Hyzon, which focuses on hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles, and Raven plan to build up to 250 hydrogen production facilities worldwide.
But the first facilities with Chevron and the partners will be in the San Francisco area.
As MRC wrote previously, ExxonMobil, along with Chevron, is seeking to bulk up in the burgeoning renewable fuels space by finding ways to make such products at existing facilities. The two largest US oil companies want to produce sustainable fuels without ponying up billions of dollars that some refineries are spending to reconfigure operations to make such products. Renewable fuels account for 5% of US fuel consumption, but are poised to grow as various sectors adapt to cut overall carbon emissions to combat global climate change.
Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
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