Mitsubishi, Puget Sound Energy partner on battery, hydrogen storage projects

Puget Sound Energy and Mitsubishi Power Americas are developing green hydrogen production, storage and transportation facilities as part of the utility’s long-term energy goals.

The partnership will seek the development of utility-scale battery storage systems and developing hydrogen gas turbine combined cycle facilities for the Washington, USA-based company. The companies said they are collaborating to pursue cross-sector decarbonization opportunities to create synergies between the power sector and other industrial sectors in the region, including refineries, transportation and distribution.

Mitsubishi Power said its Hydaptive package optimizes integration across renewables, energy storage, and hydrogen-enabled gas turbine power plants, which all work together to create and incorporate green hydrogen — a key to reaching carbonless emissions.

Under terms of the agreement, Mitsubishi Power and Magnum Development will jointly develop green hydrogen storage assets in PSE’s service territory. Mitsubishi Power and Magnum Development introduced green hydrogen storage at grid scale in May 2019 with the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project in Delta, Utah.

In January 2021, PSE set its “Beyond Net Zero Carbon” energy company goal. PSE will target reducing its own carbon emissions to net-zero and go beyond by helping other sectors to enable carbon reduction across the state of Washington.

“Our aspirational ‘Beyond Net Zero Carbon’ goal is built on the idea that we cannot get there alone,” said Mary Kipp, president and CEO of PSE. “We need leading organizations like Mitsubishi Power who share our commitment to combating climate change and creating a clean energy future that benefits all of the customers and communities we serve.”

PSE is Washington state’s largest utility, supporting 1.1 million electric customers and nearly 900 000 natural gas customers. 

“At Mitsubishi Power, our mission is to provide power generation and storage solutions to our customers, empowering them to affordably and reliably combat climate change and advance human prosperity,” said Paul Browning, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Americas. “It is our firm belief that to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, we need to develop and deploy renewable energy storage projects of all durations in the decade of the 2020s. This means lithium-ion battery storage for short-duration storage, and green hydrogen for long-duration storage. We believe our customers will be the heroes in achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the power sector, and we plan to support them with joint development agreements like this one with Puget Sound Energy.”