The Port of Corpus Christi (PCCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Apex Clean Energy, LLC (Apex) and EPIC Midstream Holdings, LP (EPIC).
The nonbinding agreement will see the three parties explore the development of a hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and export operation.
This includes a newly proposed dedicated pipeline and green fuels hub to be located at the port on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The project is expected to produce green hydrogen and other green fuels in volumes not seen before in the United States, with additional scale possible by 2030.
Apex will utilise its portfolio of wind and solar projects currently in development in Texas to power the proposed facilities and EPIC will consider leveraging its pipeline construction and operating expertise to accelerate the development of the pipeline.
The project would also look to develop existing and new storage, processing and export infrastructure sited on real estate owned by the Port of Corpus Christi Authority.
Ares Management and the Port of Corpus Christi previously executed a separate nonbinding memorandum of understanding in May 2021, with the intention of developing renewable energy infrastructure on PCCA-owned property to support the production of green hydrogen and optionality to provide renewable power directly to the port and its customers. This new MoU builds on that effort, specifically with respect to the development of green fuels projects.
Jeff Pollack, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer for the Port of Corpus Christi, added: “This initiative is exactly the type of interdisciplinary collaboration that would enable scalable projects that move the needle on diversification of the energy marketplace.
“This monumental potential project would directly contribute to the burgeoning clean hydrogen hub at the Port of Corpus Christi and would directly support our ambitions to cultivate world-scale hydrogen exports as our part in national decarbonisation and energy balance of trade objectives.”
In other recent news, the Port of Corpus Christi has recently been awarded a grant for the purchase and installation of six electric vehicle charging stations.
The funding came from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (TxVEMP) and directly supports the port’s energy transition efforts in the Texas Coastal Bend region.
