Plug Power to supply 8 MW of hydrogen fuel cell power to Energy Vault

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) said on Wednesday that it would supply Energy Vault Holdings Inc with 8 megawatts of hydrogen fuel cell stationary power to deliver clean energy to the city of Calistoga in California Wine Country during events such as wildfires or other emergencies.

Usually, Energy Vault has rented mobile diesel generators to provide backup power in Calistoga during Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.

Now, Plug’s proton exchange membrane fuel cells will provide cleaner, more operationally flexible and more cost-effective power to the microgrid, the company said.

”Our agreement with Energy Vault marks a huge step forward for hydrogen fuel cells in the microgrid market and represents the future of utility power back-up,” Andy Marsh, Chief Executive Officer of Plug, said in a press release.

”Green hydrogen is uniquely positioned to solve the need for clean long-duration energy storage in at-risk communities like Calistoga that are susceptible to power interruptions. Plug’s fuel cell solutions make it easy for partners like Energy Vault to harness the power of hydrogen fuel cell technology and realize CPUC’s vision of clean microgrid generation,” the CEO added.

Energy Vault had previously said it was establishing a community microgrid for Pacific Gas and Electric Company to provide Calistoga with a minimum of 293 megawatt-hours of dispatchable carbon-free energy during PSPS events and planned outages.