Mote Announces Plan to Build a Second Biomass Plant Near Sacramento, California

Los Angeles-based Mote Inc., which develops biomass plants to generate hydrogen fuel and sequester the carbon dioxide byproduct, is planning to build a second biomass facility somewhere in the Sacramento, California, area, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Business Journal (8-28-23). Construction could start as early as 2026 and finish in late 2027.

The plant is being developed by Mote in partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and is estimated to cost up to $1 billion to build. According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, the two parties are in search of a suitable location in the Sacramento area to burn wood chips to produce hydrogen that could be sold as fuel and carbon dioxide that could be stored underground.

To date, about $1.7 million has been raised for initial plant design and environmental work, with $1.2 million in grants from the US Forest Service, the California Department of Conservation, and the California Department of Forestry, along with $500,000 from Mote Inc.

Mote already has a similar project in planning stages in Kern County. In December 2021, Mote announced plans to build a $100 million gasification plant on 5 acres of land. A Mote spokesperson told the Los Angeles Business Journal that the two plants combined would produce about 21,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year. The Sacramento plant would generate about 450,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

It will be Mote’s responsibility to find buyers for both the hydrogen and the sequestered carbon.