Xcel Energy - Energy Industry Innovation of the Year

Company: Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, MN
Company Description: Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas service provider with annual revenues of $11.5 billion. Based in Minneapolis, the company operates in eight Western and Midwestern states, providing a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.6 million electricity customers and 2 million natural gas customers.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Energy Industry Innovation of the Year

Nomination Title: Hydrogen Pilot

Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas service provider with annual revenues of $11.5 billion. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company operates in eight Western and Midwestern states, providing a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.6 million electricity customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers.

The company took an industry leadership role to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030 and provide customers 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. It’s expanding renewable energy portfolio already delivers cleaner energy and the company is challenging itself to achieve more while enhancing reliability and keeping customer bills low. This includes industry partnerships to help develop innovative technology to help achieve our goals and empowering customers with industry-leading efficiency and renewable energy choices to support their goals and objectives.

The company’s workforce of more than 11,000 employees is responding to our changing industry. This requires being even more customer-focused, forward thinking and efficient.

Xcel Energy is committed to racial equity and creating a dynamic and inclusive workforce culture where all employees are challenged, respected and encouraged to excel in their jobs. Our commitment to veterans and LGBTQ equality has led to national recognition year-after-year.

To help shape industry change and prepare for the future, Xcel Energy explores innovative ways to lead the clean energy transition and encourages the development of advanced technology across all areas of the business. We know we can’t achieve our 2050 vision without the development of technologies that either don’t yet exist or aren’t commercially viable today. Industry partnerships are also a critical component.

In 2020, Xcel Energy was selected for a Department of Energy grant to build a pilot at one of our nuclear plants to demonstrate how producing hydrogen can support our carbon reduction strategy. We partnered with the Idaho National Laboratory, along with two electric utilities (Energy Harbor and Arizona Public Service) on a consortium project to develop new, innovative technology to produce carbon-free hydrogen. Using a multi-phase approach, each of the utilities leads a portion of the overall effort, while leveraging each other’s learnings. Our phase includes developing a nuclear-integrated high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) hydrogen pilot. It is a first-of-its kind effort to develop innovative technology that delivers a new, carbon-free, dispatchable energy to achieve our goals and benefit numerous commercial industries if produced at scale.

Our pilot marks the first time a nuclear plant will co-produce a product other than electricity on site. The project will be built at either the Xcel Energy Prairie Island or Monticello nuclear plants between 2021 and 2023. Our choice to produce hydrogen using HTSE at one of our nuclear plants has the potential to provide up to 33% greater efficiencies in producing carbon-free hydrogen over low temperature electrolysis methods. No utility in the world is producing carbon-free hydrogen using nuclear energy. The product, if produced at scale, could be used in vehicle fuel cells, combined with natural gas, in agriculture as fertilizer, and in oil and gas refining to significantly reduce carbon footprints.

We predict that in the future, we’ll be able to make hydrogen at the same or below the cost of steam-methane reformation, which is the method that produces 90% of the hydrogen used in the U.S. and has significant carbon emissions. The cost of hydrogen produced from electrolysis is expected to begin competing with steam-methane reformation around the 2030 timeframe, according to several research firms.

Given this information, and that Xcel Energy has some of the best wind, solar and geothermal resources in the country, plus top-performing nuclear plants, Xcel Energy is in a strong position to hold a sustainable, long-term strategic advantage in the sale of carbon-free electricity to mitigate the risks of climate change and provide cleaner air for our communities.

Attached as a supplement is the full description of our hydrogen pilot which breaks down the project in more detail, including information on the process we are using to produce carbon-free hydrogen at one of Xcel Energy’s nuclear plants. It also details potential uses for carbon-free hydrogen in the energy, oil and gas and agriculture industries from our research.

Also included in the attachment is a short video that highlights how our hydrogen pilot supports Xcel Energy’s carbon-reduction goals.