US mid-market giant Williams has partnered with Danish company Ørsted A / S to co-develop hydrogen or synthetic natural gas facilities powered by renewable energies.

The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to identify ways to leverage Ørsted’s renewable energy and hydrogen expertise with natural gas infrastructure and processing experience. Williams to develop the projects. In particular, they are exploring a large-scale wind power, electrolysis and synthetic gas biogas project in western Wyoming, where Williams has land and gas infrastructure.

Chad Zamarin of Williams, senior vice president of strategic development for the company, said the company’s large-scale energy infrastructure network and gas assets “are ideal partners in facilitating the integration of renewable energy into the energy mix …

“It is through technological innovation and collaboration with forward-thinking companies such as Ørsted that we can leverage our assets and expertise to develop solutions aimed at advancing the economy of the clean energy.

[In the Know: Subscribe to NGI’s All New Access and gain the ability to read every article NGI publishes daily.]

The Williams system manages 30% of the natural gas used for power generation, heating and industrial use in the United States. Its assets, according to the company, are adaptable to the future storage and transport of renewable energies. In addition, they are “well positioned to advance the future of hydrogen, by connecting cheaper production sites for renewable hydrogen and other electric fuels with growing demand centers.”

Earlier this year, Williams signed a similar deal with Microsoft Corp. to advance its net zero goals through digital technology and innovation. Williams intends to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and move towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. On track towards its goal, the company aims to achieve an absolute reduction of 56% in GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Ørsted, which divested its oil and gas assets in 2017 to transform into a renewable energy company, is Denmark’s largest energy company. It also operates onshore wind farms in the United States with a total capacity of 1.7 GW. Wind and solar projects are also underway in Alabama, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.

Ørsted Onshore’s Vishal Kapadia, who is commercial director, said the company is turning the onshore business into a potential growth platform for renewable hydrogen. “The combination of our expertise in the development and exploitation of renewable energies with access to large-scale gas transmission networks and infrastructure will further expand the scope of the energy solutions we can offer and will position us well to continue to develop innovative approaches to drive the decarbonization of the energy system. “