Infinium takes FID on 100MW Texas e-fuels plant

Market: Hydrogen
19/05/25

US project developer Infinium has taken a final investment decision (FID) on an e-fuels production plant in Texas, and has selected compatriot Electric Hydrogen to provide 100MW of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser capacity.

Construction of Project Roadrunner, at Pecos, west Texas is underway, with commercial production due to start in 2027, Infinium said.

The facility will make 23,000 t/yr of synthetic aviation fuels (e-SAF) and other e-fuels, specifically e-diesel for trucking and maritime industries and e-naphtha. This will make it the largest e-fuels facility in the world, Infinium said.

Supply will be sold domestically and exported to international markets, it said.

Infinium last year struck a 10-year offtake deal with UK-based International Airlines Group (IAG) for delivery of 75,000t of e-SAF to any of the group's airlines: Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Level and Vueling. The UK will introduce mandatory e-SAF quotas for the aviation sector from 2028, with the EU to follow suit in 2030.

The 7,500 t/yr deal with IAG would cover roughly one-third of Project Roadrunner's expected output. Infinium also has a supply agreement with American Airlines, the developer said.

Project Roadrunner will be fed with 150MW of wind power generation capacity from a subsidiary of Florida-headquartered NextEra Energy Resources, via a long-term power purchase agreement.

Infinium said Electric Hydrogen's integrated 100MW PEM plant "will not only produce hydrogen for the e-SAF facility but will also have capacity to support future hydrogen offtake opportunities."

Canadian asset management Brookfield in 2024 agreed to invest $200mn in Infinium, and specifically Project Roadrunner, in the short term, with potential further investments of $850mn for future projects. Project Roadrunner previously received conditional funding commitment of $75mn from the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.

Infinium has not specified whether it intends to avail itself of the 45V hydrogen production tax credits, which could yield up to $3/kg of hydrogen. Start of construction would leave this possibility open even if a bill proposed by Republicans in the US House of Representatives goes through. The proposed bill foresees that tax credits would only be available for projects that start construction before the start of 2026.

By Alexandra Luca

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20/06/25

ArcelorMittal halts DRI-EAF projects in the EU

London, 20 June (Argus) — Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal said it will not proceed with previously announced direct-reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) decarbonisation projects at Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt in Germany. The company cited unfavourable policy and slower than expected progress in the energy transition — particularly the lack of commercially viable renewable hydrogen. The company initially planned to supply DRI from Bremen to the EAF in Eisenhuttenstadt after their construction. ArcelorMittal first announced the plans in 2021, projecting that the two sites could produce up to 3.5mn t/yr of steel using renewable hydrogen by 2030. The company initially planned to use natural gas for DRI production in Bremen and gradually switch to renewable hydrogen. But in November last year, the company said it was unable to take final investment decisions on building the DRI-EAF assets in the EU because of challenging energy, policy and market environments that were not moving in a favourable direction. The projects were slated to receive €1.3bn ($1.5bn) in subsidies from the German federal government, contingent on construction beginning by June 2025. Even with that support, the business case remains too weak, ArcelorMittal Europe chief executive Geert van Poelvoorde said. The company has formally notified the government it will not be taking the subsidies. "This decision underlines the scale of the challenge. As it stands, the European steel industry is under unprecedented pressure to stay viable — without factoring in the additional costs required to decarbonise," Poelvoorde said. It remains unclear what the company's decision means for its related partnerships with German utility RWE and US-based Plug Power. ArcelorMittal and RWE announced plans in 2022 to identify locations for electrolysis plants to supply renewable hydrogen to the steelmaker's Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt sites, starting with a 70MW pilot facility by 2026. In a separate agreement in 2023, Plug Power committed to supply two 5MW electrolysers to utility SWB for ArcelorMittal's green steel feasibility project at Bremen. The company has urged the EU to accelerate enforcement of the carbon border adjustment mechanism, strengthen trade protections and implement the EU Metals Action Plan to restore the competitiveness of low-emissions steel. In May, ArcelorMittal confirmed its intention to invest €1.2bn in a new EAF at its Dunkirk site in France. Market participants suggest the company was delaying its DRI investments in Ghent, Belgium, and Dunkirk, but the steelmaker has yet to comment. The French government in 2023 approved an €850mn grant to ArcelorMittal to decarbonise its Dunkirk asset. ArcelorMittal's move comes as other steelmakers in Germany also reassess their decarbonisation timelines. Thyssenkrupp, for instance, has warned that its planned DRI plant in Duisburg — expected to switch from natural gas to hydrogen — may not be economically viable under current conditions. By Elif Eyuboglu and Akansha Victor Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty

20/06/25

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20/06/25

Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty

Hamburg, 20 June (Argus) — Germany is planning to impose penalties of €17,000 for each tonne that fuel suppliers fall short of their hydrogen-based synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) obligations, under a draft bill implementing the EU's revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). The draft, seen by Argus , allows for the penalty level to be adjusted in future. The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation legislation mandates e-SAF blending from 2030. Fuel suppliers must ensure that e-SAF makes up at least 1.2pc of their overall aviation fuel supply on average in 2030–31, with a minimum of 0.7pc each year. The share rises to 2pc in 2032, 5pc in 2035 and 35pc by 2050. Member states are required to set penalties at least twice the price difference between e-SAF produced from renewable hydrogen and conventional jet fuel. Reference prices published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency earlier this year implied minimum penalties of €13,922/t. Germany's proposed €17,000/t penalty would significantly exceed that level. E-SAF can be produced using renewable or non-fossil low-carbon hydrogen, such as hydrogen from nuclear-powered electrolysis. The legislation also permits the direct use of hydrogen in aviation, although this is widely seen as a longer-term prospect. Germany had previously proposed its own national e-SAF quotas but scrapped those plans following the introduction of EU-wide mandates. Most planned e-SAF production facilities in Europe and globally remain in early development stages. Industry participants have repeatedly called for greater regulatory clarity — including on penalties — and additional support to unlock final investment decisions. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Poland wraps up CBAM changes with European Parliament

18/06/25

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18/06/25

Poland wraps up CBAM changes with European Parliament

Brussels, 18 June (Argus) — Poland has concluded negotiations on behalf of EU member states with the European Parliament for a revised carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), ahead of handing over the bloc's six-month rotating presidency to Denmark at the end of June. But Warsaw will not lead discussions on the EU's emissions cut target for 2040 and the bloc's updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris climate agreement. Leading negotiations for EU states with parliament, Poland's deputy climate minister Krzysztof Bolesta said the revised CBAM would exempt 90pc of originally covered EU companies from reporting obligations, while 99pc of emissions embedded in imported products would remain covered. The agreement on CBAM now has to be formally approved by parliament and EU ministers. Once published in the bloc's official journal, the revised CBAM text will exempt importers that do not exceed a new single mass-based threshold of 50 t/yr of imported goods. Bolesta admitted that progress has been held up on concluding the EU's NDC during Warsaw's presidency of EU ministerial meetings. CBAM was also listed by Bolesta as one of the points for flexibility in discussions on the 2040 climate target, alongside carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris agreement, additional funding and flexibility between climate sub-targets. At a meeting of environment ministers yesterday, Bolesta indicated that most states still favour the European Commission linking its submission of an EU NDC to the UN — which includes a 2035 emissions cut target — with the bloc's planned 2 July proposal for a 2040 EU climate target. The CBAM yesterday contributed to delays in technical negotiations held in Bonn, Germany, for the UN Cop 30 climate conference in Brazil. The Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries, including countries such as Bolivia, China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Vietnam, had urged the need to address concerns "with climate change-related trade-restrictive unilateral measures". Despite "very, very divergent views", EU member states agree that it "is absolutely urgent to come up with an NDC before the end of September", Bolesta said. The Polish presidency of the EU, chairing climate ministers' meetings, has advanced NDC work as much as possible in the absence of the commission's proposal to revise the bloc's climate law. "We really have only a couple of months to come up with something. What lacks in the NDC draft is now the headline target," Bolesta said. Countries have not yet discussed the quality of Article 6 offsets, Bolesta added. "Everyone in the room realises that we need to be very stringent on what kind of offset will be let into the system," he said. EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra is "cautiously optimistic" that a landing ground can be found on the 2040 climate target. He called for more assertive climate diplomacy, as a large part of the problem lies outside Europe. For China, Hoekstra noted unfair trade practices and "serious" concerns about plans to build additional coal-fired plants. "It's a mixed bag. And we invite them to step up their ambition," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Data centre power grab worries H2 sector

17/06/25

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17/06/25

Data centre power grab worries H2 sector

Data centres are locking in deals with suppliers, as H2 projects struggle to get off the ground, writes Stefan Krumpelmann Hamburg, 17 June (Argus) — The global hydrogen sector is not short of problems that are keeping it from lift-off. To that list can now be added a surge in competition from data centres for clean power, key equipment and engineering services. For some technology providers in the hydrogen sector, the big data boom presents opportunities. Fuel cell manufacturers say they are seeing interest in back-up power from data centre operators, for example. But there is growing consensus that data centres will outcompete hydrogen projects for key resources. Power — especially from renewables or nuclear — is the most obvious area of competition. While hydrogen projects struggle to get off the ground for a multitude of reasons, data centres are gobbling up large amounts of power under long-term contracts. Over the past month alone, US technology giant Meta has signed deals for 650MW of solar power in Texas and Kansas from utility AES and 1.1GW of nuclear power from utility Constellation, while entering a co-operation agreement with Houston-based XGS Energy to develop a 150MW geothermal project. Rising power demand and prices have held back numerous US electrolysis projects, electrolyser and fuel cell maker Bloom Energy's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, Aman Joshi, said last year — before the US hydrogen sector was rocked by President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Such competition is increasingly evident elsewhere too, including in Latin American countries with high hopes for hydrogen, but where progress has been sluggish. "If hydrogen doesn't take the renewable power from LatAm, data centres and crypto will," Inter-American Development Bank's lead energy specialist, Christiaan Gischler, said at last month's World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam. Electricity prices for renewable hydrogen projects that are planning to draw on grid power have shot up because data centres will pay more, Australian developer InterContinental Energy's chief executive, Alexander Tancock, says. Global data centre power consumption could more than double to 945 TWh/yr by 2030 from about 415 TWh/yr as artificial intelligence use grows rapidly, Paris-based energy watchdog the IEA said in April. Much of this rise would be driven by the US, where data centre demand could eclipse the power consumption of all energy-intensive industries combined by the end of this decade, the IEA forecasts. Big data's growth could make it harder to secure key equipment too. Lead times for key items have already lengthened as equipment is reserved for data centre installations, engineering, procurement and construction firm Black & Veatch's senior vice-president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Youssef Merjaneh says. Major manufacturers' order books are full until 2028 for equipment such as switchgears, transformers and gas turbines, he says. Developers are feeling the pinch. Transformer lead times have risen to three years from two, France-headquartered Lhyfe's manager for the Benelux region, Adriaan van Hoeken, says. A skilled worker shortage could be another hurdle. Only a fraction of announced hydrogen projects will be built, at least in the near term, which could alleviate previous concerns about staffing bottlenecks. But the workers might instead be needed elsewhere, such as in data centre development. Merjaneh estimates that 35-40GW of data centre additions are planned until 2030, while existing engineering capacity would only support 10-15GW. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Q&A: Suburban's renewable quest continues

17/06/25

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17/06/25

Q&A: Suburban's renewable quest continues

London, 17 June (Argus) — US LPG distributor Suburban Propane was the first company to sell a propane-renewable DME (rDME) blend in California in 2022 . The company has also pioneered sales of biopropane in the US and has since expanded into renewable natural gas (RNG) — also called biomethane — and hydrogen. Argus spoke with Suburban's vice-president of renewable energy, Douglas Dagan, about the push into renewables and the challenges ahead: Could you provide an update on Suburban's renewable DME sales? We continue to have a strategic partnership with Oberon Fuels , which produces rDME in the US. We are the only commercial seller of a propane-rDME blend — right now we sell to all of our forklift truck and autogas customers from our Anaheim, California, location. The product is a true drop-in replacement that can be used in all propane applications. The blend ratio is currently small, but we are testing higher percentages to determine the maximum drop-in blend level. We received an exemption from the California Air Resources Board [CARB] to run a pilot testing higher blend levels in vehicles. What is the current blend ratio and what is the maximum you are looking at? Our commercial blend is 4pc rDME. This ensures no issues as a drop-in replacement. We want to get to a 10pc maximum, but we've done a lot of testing and are delivering at 4pc in the Anaheim market. We are confident there are no issues on the customer side when a 4pc blend is used in an engine. Now we're looking to assess higher blend percentages. Getting CARB pilot approval was the first step. Why has the maximum fallen from previous estimates of 20pc and then 12pc? RDME has a lot of potential, but it's more challenging than anticipated. We started testing before the World Liquid Gas Association [WLGA] did. The belief was you could blend up to 20pc and everything would work. It turns out it's more like 10pc — lower than hoped — which means environmental benefits don't scale as fast. You have to ensure no issues arise from the oxygen content in DME, such as seal degradation causing leaks. There must be a high degree of confidence. On the supply side, different blend ratios require dedicated tanks and infrastructure — you can't switch between 4pc and 20pc easily — so it's very costly to have more than one blend. What are the latest in terms of your renewable propane sales? We are rapidly scaling — we've sold over 1mn USG [1,900t] of renewable propane in California, where we primarily offer renewable propane. Several programmes support renewable propane, but California credits are the most lucrative. We will sell outside California and are exploring expansion. The biggest challenge is availability. Many producers don't yet see value in separating renewable propane from the stream — it's a by-product, from renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. We're building relationships to say: we have demand, and we'll pay. We just need more of it. How does Donald Trump's presidency and the resulting pressures on the regulatory environment for the energy transition affect Suburban's renewable plans? I think the Trump administration is supportive of what we're doing. It has different priorities from the Biden administration, but we still see support at both state and federal levels for our traditional product. On the renewable side, we're developing drop-in renewable propane, as well as RNG and clean hydrogen. There's support for all three. A Trump priority is domestic industry, and our plans are heavily domestic. Every administration brings new challenges. Lack of certainty is the biggest — knowing future policies is hard. Luckily we have a traditional product and a renewable platform that have support from both parties and we think the outlook for the future is good regardless of which party is in control. Can you explain why the carbon intensity (CI) metric could be an important tool for policy makers? It's a critical metric, though a bit technical. Policy makers deal with many issues — energy is just one. But the more people understand CI, the better the decisions. The CI scale, developed by Argonne National Lab, is a full life-cycle emissions calculation, covering production and use. Electric vehicles [EVs] are often seen as cleanest, but not always. CI reveals this — the lower the better. For example, if the electricity grid is dirtier than gasoline, switching to EVs worsens emissions. In most US states, the grid is dirtier than traditional propane. Gasoline and diesel score about 100, traditional propane around 80, and renewable propane 20-40. Suburban is moving into hydrogen and RNG. Is this a diversification strategy or do they somehow complement the core LPG business? We have a large RNG facility in Arizona using dairy manure and co-feed from organic waste. We can produce 1,000–1,500mn Btu/d of RNG sent via pipeline to California for engine fuel. Its CI score is a little better than minus 350 — phenomenally clean. We're building a new facility in upstate New York, and upgrading one in Columbus, Ohio, that uses food and organic waste. We're also evaluating other RNG opportunities. But we're also growing our LPG business. RNG is a great product — and part of a strategic platform. Digesters make biogas, which becomes RNG. But raw biogas can also be used to make rDME and renewable propane. And RNG can make clean hydrogen — or rDME/renewable propane that can be transported and reformed into clean hydrogen on site. These are all interconnected. Will the company retain its core focus as a propane supplier? Yes. Propane is a unique energy source that will remain critical. Many customers are in areas where large-scale grid decarbonisation isn't feasible, so propane as distributed energy is vital. [And] more extreme weather events take down grids. Propane is resilient — useful for heating, cooking and generating electrons to power EVs where the grid can't meet demand. If emergency EVs run on electricity and the grid fails, you need another way to generate electrons. [So, propane has a lasting role.] Have Suburban's traditional propane sales been pressured by warmer winters? Winter 2024–25 was much colder than the record-warm winter a year earlier, which had lowered demand. This winter, heating demand climbed and sales increased. But our strategy doesn't rely on cold weather. We're growing non-weather-related demand via traditional and renewable platforms — especially for engines and back-up power. Our goal is to grow both platforms and deploy capital for the greatest returns. What are your hopes for the rest of this year for the renewables business? We plan to keep growing RNG production. Output is rising at our Stanfield [Arizona] facility and the other two mentioned. We're also exploring hydrogen opportunities and expect that segment to grow. For renewable propane and DME, we've seen tremendous recent growth — especially in renewable propane. We're pursuing more supply and new markets outside California. Reaching 1mn USG in sales was a big milestone — and we want to keep building on that this year. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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