By Jon Styf
(The Center Square) – Fidelis New Energy is expected to spend $2 billion on a hydrogen production facility and data center in Mason County that will employee 800 people once it is operation in 2028.
The project will be built in four phases with each phase producing more than 500 metric tons per day of net-zero carbon hydrogen. The first phase, the FidelisH2 train of the Mountaineer GigaSystem, is expected to open first.
“I am beyond excited that West Virginia will be the home of the Mountaineer GigaSystem and Monarch Cloud Campus,” Gov. Jim Justice said in a statement. “West Virginia has a long history as an energy powerhouse for our nation, thanks to our hardworking people who know how to get the job done. And now, we’re in a great position to make the most of a new fuel – hydrogen – through this incredible project in Mason County.
“There’s simply no doubt that Fidelis is going to help shape the future of West Virginia in a major, major way by assisting in the commercial lift-off of some truly exciting new industries.”
Mountaineer will be using its FidelisH2 technology to produce hydrogen with zero lifecycle carbon emissions from a combination of natural gas, carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration and renewable energy.
The hydrogen will be used for carbon-neutral hyperscale datacenters, greenhouses, transportation and steel production.
The Monarch Cloud Campus will have net-zero carbon emission data centers on land secured by Fidelis within the Mountaineer site and additional acreage within Mason County. When the project is fully built out, the data center capacity could reach 1,000 megawatts, costing $5 billion in additional investment.
While the incentive package cost was not included in the announcement, it will cover the cost of required geological surveys for the project.
To read more about hydrogen investment, click here.