Through the help of a $1 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), energy infrastructure company Williams is working with UW’s School of Energy Resources (SER) and UW senior Jacob Schneider to create a feasibility study to determine the best location for an electrolysis plant in Wyoming.
“We’re trying to create a space for a hydrogen market in the state,” Schneider said.
Williams is an energy infrastructure company that currently manages about a third of natural gas resources in the United States, and hopes to bring about necessary critical infrastructure that can be used for clean energy, like hydrogen energy, in the future.
Hydrogen fuel is a clean source of energy that can be produced in a multitude of ways, from electrolysis, the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, to the reformation of natural gas. When consumed, the only waste produced by hydrogen fuel is water. Hydrogen is also a versatile energy source, as it can be used in transportation, housing, and electricity generation.
Schnieder is using a variety of information, including publicly accessible data to do work for Williams, to find the best and most suitable location for an electrolysis plant in southwestern Wyoming. Schneider uses information like the location of protected natural areas, such as protected wetlands, the proximity to a variety of different resources, such as water, electricity, and oil and gas wells, and property ownership maps to create models that showcase potential locations for a future Williams electrolysis plant.
When asked his favorite part of the job Schnieder said, “When I get all the information together, get all the map layers together, build a model or build a story map and then I present that to my colleagues at SER and at Williams and they’re really happy with what I produced.”
Schneider believes that his work will have an impact on the future of Wyoming’s green energy, and is proud of what he has achieved so far. He remarked that balancing school, clubs, and work has been difficult, but rewarding, and that the work he has been doing with Williams has helped him to succeed in school, and that many of his projects for classes have a level of overlap with his work.
“I think that Wyoming is in a great position to be a future hydrogen producer and storer,” Schneider said, and with his help, the future may be even closer than we think.
