New Mexico duo plan hydrogen-to-power project

Hydrogen developer BayoTech and the New Mexico Gas Company are working to develop hydrogen for power and possibly for use as a transportation fuel, they announced December 3.

Both sides reached an agreement to build a hydrogen production facility in Albuquerque. A pilot project expected online by the middle of next year could send hydrogen into New Mexico Gas Company’s natural gas distribution network as a power source. It could also supply retail hydrogen refuelling stations in the region.

"With the commissioning of a BayoTech hydrogen hub in Albuquerque, transportation and industry in New Mexico will now have a local source of reliable, economical clean hydrogen to decarbonise their businesses," said Mo Vargas, BayoTech's CEO.

BayoTech said the pilot facility could produce enough hydrogen to fill up to 200 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles daily. While small, the state governor said hydrogen could be an early tool in the effort to reduce New Mexico’s environmental footprint.

"BayoTech's investment in Albuquerque today will move New Mexico closer towards our ambitious goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050," governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said.