Report from KBR supports potential for $1.75/kg hydrogen from Syntholene's geothermal-SOEC platform
Syntholene Energy Corp. has announced an independent technical and economic review evaluating Syntholene’s geothermal-integrated hydrogen production platform and its potential application to low-carbon fuels, including synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF).
Kellogg Brown and Root LLC (KBR) was engaged by the Company to provide an analysis and opinion of high level technical and cost review of the Company’s hydrogen technology that can be applied to eSAF deployments. The Report assessed Syntholene’s levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) methodology and conducted sensitivity analysis across key cost variables. KBR concluded that Syntholene’s likely LCOH is approximately $1.75/kg H2 under best-case Iceland geothermal scenarios and approximately $2.10/kg H2 under broad deployment.
Hydrogen is the dominant cost in synthetic aviation fuel production (IEA) and generating it at low cost is central to achieving cost competitive synthetic fuel. Recent unsubsidized estimates of comparable green hydrogen price averages across Europe were ~€$6.71/kg H2 ($7.66) (EHO).
Notably, Syntholene’s LCOH target would materially undercut the most recent European benchmark for unabated fossil hydrogen produced with traditional steam methane reforming (SMR), of which the European Hydrogen Observatory stated “the levelized production costs of hydrogen by SMR in Europe were, on average, ~€3.33/kg H2 ($3.80) of hydrogen. (EHO)” when including the current cost of the European Carbon Price (ETS), this fossil derived Hydrogen benchmark increases the cost of SMR with carbon capture to ~€4.12/kg H2 ($4.70).
The review further states that successful operation at Syntholene’s demonstration facility in Húsavík, Iceland would provide key operating data related to efficiency, thermal integration, reliability and stack degradation. The Report identifies primary risks, including electricity price variability, long-duration SOEC degradation, stack life assumptions, project-specific capital cost, and operating cost validation.
The report identified several potential technical and commercial differentiators for Syntholene, including:
- Integration of low-carbon geothermal electricity and thermal energy
- Reduced electrical intensity through SOEC operation and heat recovery
- Integration advantages with eSAF configurations, including heat and utility integration
- Mitigation strategies for geothermal silica scaling through indirect fluid handling and binary-cycle-style heat exchange design
- Extension of SOEC stack operating life through dynamic AC:DC operation approach.
“Syntholene’s core thesis is that low-cost synthetic fuel production starts with low-cost clean hydrogen, and that the lowest-cost clean hydrogen will come from systems that intelligently use both electricity and heat,” said Dan Sutton, Chief Executive Officer of Syntholene. “The report identifies the major cost drivers, validates the importance of our now-operating Húsavík Demonstration Facility, and reinforces why geothermal colocation can be a structural advantage in synthetic fuel production.”
KBR was engaged as an independent third-party technical consultant and was paid a fixed fee for its assessment and the preparation for the Report. KBR did not receive any securities of the Company as compensation for its services.
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