GlobalFoundries launches cutting edge project to fight climate change
GlobalFoundries, the chip maker in Essex Junction, will produce so-called "green hydrogen" on-site to reduce its consumption of natural gas and carbon emissions.
If a pilot project goes well, the company will expand its use of green hydrogen to its chip-making process as well.
Here's how it works: Devices known as electrolyzers, powered with electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar, will extract hydrogen from water without producing new carbon emissions. GlobalFoundries will blend that green hydrogen into its natural gas lines used for heating, reducing carbon emissions through reduced consumption of natural gas.
The pilot project will begin on Feb. 9. If it's successful, GlobalFoundries could begin using green hydrogen to support its chip-making process as well. The Essex Junction "fab," as chip production facilities are known, currently uses a type of hydrogen known as "gray," because it's extracted from fossil fuels rather than water, generating additional greenhouse gases during the production process.
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Both Vermont Natural Gas and the University of Vermont are partnering with GlobalFoundries in the pilot project. VGS sees green hydrogen as an important innovation to displace fossil gas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a news release. The hydrogen can be blended with natural gas and used directly in boilers, furnaces and other appliances. For the pilot project, green hydrogen will be blended only into the on-site systems at GlobalFoundries.
"We are thrilled to work with Vermont's largest private employer and the team at UVM to pilot green hydrogen in the Green Mountains," Neale Lunderville, president and CEO of VGS said in a news release. "The project will demonstrate the value of renewable fuel in high-tech manufacturing, which is critical to fighting climate change."
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Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: GlobalFoundries to use "green hydrogen" to cut carbon emissions
