Keeping An Eye On The Proposed KeyState to Zero Facility in Clearfield County

Background  

KeyState Energy is a proposed industrial chemical manufacturing facility that would take fracked gas and turn it into “blue” hydrogen. This would then be used to make other products, including ammonia, which could, in turn, be used to make various other chemicals such as urea, synthetic fertilizers, and diesel exhaust fluid. These chemicals would be transported by rail and roads.

The project, spearheaded by Pennsylvania-based businessman and KeyState CEO, Benjamin “Perry” Babb, is proposed to be built on a large tract of land in Karthaus, PA off Interstate Highway 80. A portion of the land was owned by a former coal-mining facility, River Hill Coal Company. The footprint of the proposed industrial project would encroach on undeveloped forested gaming and recreational land that is part of the Pennsylvania Wilds region and home to the largest wild elk herd in the northeast United States.

Keystate Energy’s proposed processes and products are structured to capture substantial federal and state taxpayer subsidies. The proposed project is 15-20 miles from a fracking site, Frontier Natural Resources LLC (a partner of KeyState Energy), which may serve as KeyState’s source of fracked gas-derived methane (CH4). Methane gas, or what is commonly known as fracked or “natural” gas, would be extracted on the proposed site and converted into hydrogen (H₂), which results in carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution as a byproduct.

Frontier Natural Resources of Bellefonte, PA is the partner company listed on the project proposal. The company was incorporated in 2014. Despite limited drilling activity, Frontier has been issued multiple violations by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for abandoning wells, defective casing, failing to restore a water impoundment, and creating a public nuisance by not complying with a DEP order. These violations have remained unresolved since 2021.  

What is Blue Hydrogen and Carbon Capture? 

Policymakers and the fossil fuel industry have held up “clean” hydrogen as a potentially less polluting source of energy that can be made from fossil fuels without emitting greenhouse gases when combusted. However, hydrogen can be produced in multiple ways with different feedstock, which results in varying degrees of pollution. 

“Green” hydrogen is the “cleanest” form of hydrogen. In this process, renewable energy splits water molecules into elemental hydrogen and oxygen. Green hydrogen is currently only 1% of the global hydrogen supply. 

“Gray” hydrogen, which accounts for 95% of the global hydrogen supply, is typically produced through a process known as steam methane reformation, or SMR. In this process, high-temperature steam (1290F – 1830F) reacts with methane to produce hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide. This steam is often produced by boilers or turbines powered by fracked gas. The resulting carbon monoxide gas then reacts with steam over a catalyst in a process known as the water-gas shift, producing additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This CO₂ is typically vented to the atmosphere. 

“Blue” hydrogen, one of the proposed products of KeyState natural gas synthesis, is typically produced in the same way as “gray” hydrogen, only with the added step of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Safely, securely, and permanently storing carbon underground has yet to be proven at commercial or industrial scale and certainly not at any sites in Pennsylvania, making this “blue” hydrogen-based business model unproven.  

Oil and gas companies are promoting blue hydrogen as a “bridge fuel,” using the same language and strategy used for decades in promoting methane gas or “natural” gas. Blue hydrogen is the latest false solution offered by extractive fossil fuel corporations to insulate their market share from the transition to renewable energies. 

Air Pollution and Public Safety Concerns 

Perry Babb has offered no projections on air emissions for the KeyState project. There are only two commercial-scale blue hydrogen facilities in operation in North America and they are owned by established multibillion-dollar corporations. 

Hydrogen 

According to this air dispersion model, the local predominant wind direction for the proposed project location blows from the west and southwest. 

Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe. Its atoms are so small that they can diffuse into metals, making them brittle, creating significant leaks and explosion risks in an already weakened pipeline system. It is also highly explosive, and challenging to control with even the most advanced emissions mitigation technology.  

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) 

Further, the production of “blue” hydrogen could result in large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from methane leaks in process equipment and transportation pipelines. The storage of carbon dioxide through carbon capture and sequestration also poses risks to the environment and public health, especially to pipeline workers.

Capturing and storing carbon dioxide is expensive and energy-intensive, plus it’s odorless and colorless. Carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen, so if it leaks from a pipeline or underground storage site, it can accumulate in low-lying or enclosed areas and displace breathable air. Exposure to high concentrations can cause headaches, lead to respiratory trouble, increased pulse, and asphyxiation. 

One project in Texas reported 2.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, mostly carbon dioxide. A 2021 study showed that “blue” hydrogen produces just 9-12 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than “gray” hydrogen, a marginal difference especially given the massive cost and risk of carbon capture and sequestration. The authors of this study indicate that this factor, combined with the unproven assumption that captured CO₂ can be completely and permanently contained, means that “the use of blue hydrogen appears difficult to justify on climate grounds.” 

Ammonia 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ammonia is classified as an extremely hazardous substance and subject to strict reporting, emergency planning, and risk management (RMP) requirements. Specifically, in an anhydrous form or aqueous solutions of 20% or greater, ammonia has associated environmental and health risks and is regulated under RMP requirements.

The EPA requires companies that handle more than a minimal amount of extremely hazardous substances to prepare an RMP to reduce the chances of a catastrophic chemical release. They also have to conduct an analysis that includes reporting the impacts from a major chemical release. According to RMP guidance software, an ammonia release under the worst-case scenario can reach up to a 25-mile radius. 

These types of ammonia leaks are chemical disasters and are linked to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, blindness, suffocation, and death. Keystate’s industrial chemicals will ship out by rail and truck during operational hours, increasing the risk of an accident, impacting local commuters, and degrading local roadways faster due to the increased heavy vehicle traffic.

Construction Period Impacts 

There are few roads or railways in the region that could withstand the increased industrial traffic and roadway degradation. This means developers would have to significantly expand roads and railways to allow for construction and access to and from this proposed industrial site.  

Based on the operator’s reports, construction will last at least six years, putting the project in operation sometime around 2031 with the promised 200 permanent jobs. 

The Council is following news about the project and its developments in collaboration with partner organizations. The Council has also developed a fact sheet to share with the public and public officials on the need to closely scrutinize this facility and separate the facts from corporate storytelling.