OSLO (Reuters) - Shell (LON:RDSa) will join a project in Norway to produce hydrogen from natural gas while capturing the emissions, Aker Clean Hydrogen (ACH) said on Monday.
Countries across Europe are looking at ways to produce emissions-free hydrogen to help reduce carbon emissions and avert global warming.
Clean hydrogen can be produced from water using electricity generated by renewable energy sources.
When produced from natural gas, it is considered clean when the associated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are captured and stored permanently. Today, most of the associated CO2 emissions are released into the atmosphere.
Partners ACH, Shell and Norwegian infrastructure investor CapeOmega have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a large-scale hydrogen production facility at Aukra in western Norway, ACH said.
The clean hydrogen could be used to decarbonise local industries, for emissions-free fuel for vehicles and ships, or for export to Europe, ACH said.
Natural gas for the project would be supplied from the Nyhamna gas processing plant nearby, it added.
Shell serves as a technical service provider at the Nyhamna plant, which processes natural gas its Ormen Lange field and Equinor's Aasta Hansteen field off Norway.
The Anglo-Dutch energy firm, which aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, is also a partner in a joint venture project with Equinor and TotalEnergies to build CO2 storage off Norway.