BP has shelved its plans to develop a green hydrogen plant at Cherry Point Refinery in Whatcom County.
The energy giant was previously working toward establishing a large, standalone sustainable aviation fuels facility to be fed by a green hydrogen plant at Cherry Point. BP now looks to pivot toward creating sustainable fuel with mostly existing capabilities in the county.
“We just could not get it to a place where the economics made sense for us to continue,” Pam Brady, director of government and public affairs for BP, said of the Cherry Point project.
“We put it on a shelf, and maybe one day the economics will look different,” she explained at the Clean Energy Transportation Summit in Bellingham on Nov. 13.
BP spokesperson Cesar Rodriguez said in an emailed statement Thursday, Nov. 21, that the company will “continue looking at other biofuels opportunities.” BP declined to answer specific questions.
Cherry Point was one of five refineries worldwide shortlisted as a future hub for such processing as part of the company’s energy transition strategy, which aimed to rapidly grow renewables and cut oil and gas output by 40% by 2030.
BP has abandoned this target under the leadership of CEO Murray Auchincloss, according to Reuters.
“In hydrogen, we will be focused on five to 10 construction projects this decade starting with the first two in Europe,” Auchincloss told Reuters at the end of July.
The company has stopped 18 early-stage hydrogen projects, according to its most recent quarterly report.
“Across renewables and hydrogen, we expect to benefit from around $200 million reduction in annual cash costs, as a result of focusing our portfolio,” BP Chief Financial Officer Kate Thomson explained in the report.
In September, the company announced that it was moving forward with a green hydrogen project at the Castellón refinery in Spain, which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2026. There has also been movement with the green hydrogen project in Lingen, Germany, which was awarded funding as part of European efforts to establish a regional hub.
The report confirmed that Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2) was selected to develop a Regional Hydrogen Hub in the Midwest.
While some projects move forward, the company has paused or stopped 24 potential projects to allow it to “focus on delivering the highest value projects,” according to the report.
In Whatcom County, the company is considering co-processing sustainable aviation fuels, which Brady noted would potentially be done in a way similar to how it produces renewable diesel.
This is done by combining petroleum and biogenic raw materials, often referred to as feedstock, to create what is considered a renewable fuel.
“It wouldn’t be the same quantity, but it is a start,” Brady said, noting that the project would have a much smaller footprint than a standalone green hydrogen plant.
This pivot allows the company to use existing capabilities, experience and infrastructure at Cherry Point in the process, though there will need to be some infrastructure changes, Brady explained.
Earlier this year, the Cherry Point Refinery was awarded nearly $27 million to produce sustainable aviation fuel, using renewable biomass feedstocks.
The grant, for building infrastructure and purchasing equipment, was part of more than $36 million in funding for innovative sustainable aviation projects in Washington.
“We have to be able to figure out how to help our airline customers have sustainable aviation fuels in a low cost way, because their customers demand it,” Brady said.
The Cherry Point Refinery is the largest refinery in the state and currently produces liquid fuels and renewable diesel.
“We have made significant investment over the last, I guess it’s probably seven years now, in co-processing of renewable diesel,” Brady said.
BP declined to answer a question about where it sources its feedstock.
Brady pointed out that the diesel produced this way is easily integrated into current transportation systems because it is the same on the molecular level as traditional diesel.
“It can go into the pipelines. It can get distributed on trucks,” Brady said. “So logistics wise, it is advantageous to produce it this way.”
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
