On May 1, 2023, Black Hills Energy, a utility that serves 1.3 million customers in eight Western states, announced that it was awarded a grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) to conduct a feasibility analysis on hydrogen generation using coal from its Wyodak Mine in Campbell County, WY.[1] The program’s partners include Black Hills, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), and members of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at Ohio State University. The program will use B&W’s BrightLoopTM chemical looping technology, an oxidation reduction chemical process that produces hydrogen and a nearly pure product stream of carbon dioxide without the need for carbon capture equipment to extract carbon emissions. As part of the analysis, a conceptual design and estimate for a semi-commercial scale plant will be developed. If feasible and cost-effective, a second phase would include the construction of the facility using the BrightLoop technology at Black Hills Energy’s Neil Simpson Complex in Wyoming.

[1] https://www.blackhillsenergy.com/news/black-hills-energy-explores-versatility-of-wyoming-coal