Utility and MEW collaborate on dairy digester-to-hydrogen project

The project will produce deeply carbon-negative hydrogen from water without electricity for the mobility sector, setting a new benchmark for cost-effective decarbonisation.

The project will be located at a dairy farm complex in California and will integrate dairy digester biogas systems with Utility’s proprietary H2Gen® technology to produce economical clean fuel for heavy-duty transportation. This combination will deliver hydrogen with one of the lowest negative carbon intensity scores in the market and provide a scalable pathway to decarbonise heavy-duty transportation economically. The project has also secured initial offtake at attractive pricing to both partners.

Under the agreement, MEW will develop, build, and operate the anaerobic digesters and associated biogas treatment systems, while Utility will develop and operate the fuel production system. Together, the companies are demonstrating that collaboration across the agriculture and energy sectors can enable economic decarbonisation at scale, further supporting the US’s energy independence.

“This project is a breakthrough moment for Utility – proving that hydrogen fuel can be produced economically, without electricity, and at deeply negative carbon intensity – greener than ‘green hydrogen’ from renewable power,” said Parker Meeks, CEO of Utility Global. “Partnering with MEW allows us to unite biogas expertise with our H2Gen® technology to deliver extremely clean fuel at scale and accelerate California’s transition to zero-emission, heavy-duty transportation.”

“Maas Energy Works has always focused on turning dairy manure into biogas and clean energy,” said Daryl Maas, CEO of Maas Energy Works. “Partnering with Utility Global takes that innovation further – producing carbon-negative hydrogen to power the growth of heavy-duty transportation.”

Once operational, the project is expected to produce approximately 3 tpd of carbon-negative hydrogen fuel, creating a scalable solution to supply the growing network of hydrogen fuelling stations across California. This fuel will play a critical role in enabling zero-emission trucks and buses to meet the state’s leadership in climate and air quality targets.

The Utility Global – MEW collaboration represents an alternative model for the integration of bio-based clean fuels and industrial decarbonisation technology. In addition to dairy farms, other sources of biogas like landfills and wastewater plants are also profitable opportunities for H2Gen to provide a practical and economic pathway to produce and decarbonise transportation fuels near the point of use. The project is currently in front-end engineering development, with final investment decision anticipated following completion of feasibility and design studies and finalisation of binding offtake agreements in 2026.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/08102025/utility-and-mew-collaborate-on-dairy-digester-to-hydrogen-project/