For this Company Spotlight, we interviewed RedShift Energy’s CEO (Howard Nelson) and President (Trey Anthony) about how they are helping energy companies convert hydrogen sulfide into a hydrogen profit center while also reducing their carbon footprint. RedShift Energy uses plasma energy to produce hydrogen from hydrogen sulfide. The company’s modular technology is designed for economic applications across the petroleum value chain including unlocking trapped reserves upstream and recycling hydrogen downstream. For more information on RedShift Energy, please visit rsenrg.com.

Background: In 2017, Howard Nelson and Trey Anthony lead a team that co-founded RedShift Energy to develop and commercialize applications of plasma to address complex problems that cannot be solved by traditional chemical solutions. The initial problem they undertook was creating synthetic fuels from CO2. However, during this endeavor, they continued to run into issues on how to handle hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a highly toxic byproduct of oil and gas production. After researching how best to treat the H2S problem, they realized that it was a significant business opportunity in itself, as H2S exists across the entire petroleum value chain. Therefore, RedShift Energy pivoted its focus away from synthetic fuels to develop its unique H2S solution. The company has since established relationships with Bechtel and Halliburton Labs to develop its solution and is now focusing on deploying large-scale systems.

Value Proposition: Today, H2S is almost always treated by trying to destroy it or combining it with another chemical to neutralize. In midstream and downstream operations, H2S is typically treated using a Claus process, which is very energy-intensive and produces water and sulfur. In upstream operations, H2S is treated with scavengers that produce sulfur compound wastes. Both processes are cost centers to the operator. RedShift Energy has developed a solution that creates a profit center from the H2S stream instead or unlocks trapped reserves. RedShift Energy’s patented plasma-based system offers the following benefits to energy companies:

Recovers Hydrogen: Disassociating H2S is the most efficient path to producing carbon-free hydrogen, as it requires 1/13th of the energy needed to split water (H2O). However, there has not been a cost-effective method to disassociate H2S with traditional chemistry. RedShift Energy’s solution utilizes a patented and unique plasma disassociation that generates plasma in a very different manner to produce hydrogen.
Compact & Modular: At approximately a meter tall and half a meter wide per module for a refinery scale solution, RedShift Energy’s system can be deployed without significant modification to existing facilities. Further its modular configuration can be switched on/off independently and instantaneously (no ramp up/down) which enables the system to be installed with minimal disruption to existing operations for maintenance.
Low Cost: Given RedShift Energy’s solution can leverage legacy systems already in place, there is a relatively low capital requirement to operators. Further the system’s maintenance free and low electricity requirements enable carbon-free hydrogen to be produced at a levelized cost of less than $1/kg before any government subsidies.
Reduces Carbon Footprint: Rather than utilizing steam methane reforming (process that converts natural gas to hydrogen but also emits CO2) to completely meet their hydrogen feedstock requirements, RedShift Energy’s system allows refinery operators to significantly decrease their emissions profile by capturing the hydrogen otherwise lost in the current operations.

Closing Thoughts: As the energy industry navigates the energy transition over the next few decades, hydrogen will likely play a role but only through the use of innovative approaches, such as RedShift Energy’s. We look forward to following them, as they continue to deploy their H2S disassociation system across the entire petroleum value chain.

Company Spotlights

December 2022