Used Hydrogen Plant Acquisition Cuts Cost and Lead Time for U.S. Renewable Diesel Project

Redeploying an Unused Hydrogen Plant Created Value for Both Seller and Buyer

A major gas supplier supporting Vertex Energy’s refinery conversion to renewable diesel production needed substantial hydrogen production capacity on an aggressive project schedule. Procuring a newly manufactured hydrogen plant would have required significantly more capital and a much longer lead time.

Phoenix Equipment provided an alternative: an unused, never-installed 35,000 Nm³/hr hydrogen plant originally manufactured for the Saras refinery in Sardinia, Italy.

The plant had been manufactured in 2009 but was never constructed because of changing project requirements. Its major equipment remained in storage for more than a decade, creating an opportunity on both sides of the transaction.

For Saras, the sale converted a large, unused capital asset into substantial cash recovery from equipment the company no longer expected to deploy. For the buyer, it created access to high-quality hydrogen production assets without waiting for a new plant to be engineered and fabricated.

The Buyer’s Challenge

The buyer, a major industrial gas supplier, was supporting the hydrogen requirements of Vertex Energy’s conversion of an existing refinery to renewable diesel production.

The project required significant hydrogen capacity within a compressed schedule.

For projects of this scale, equipment availability can become a critical path. A conventional new-build approach can involve engineering, procurement, fabrication, delivery and construction before production capacity becomes available.

The buyer therefore evaluated whether an existing hydrogen plant could provide the required capacity while reducing both capital investment and project schedule.

Why the Saras Hydrogen Plant Was a Strong Fit

Phoenix had acquired the complete unused hydrogen plant associated with the cancelled Saras refinery project.

The available plant included:

• 35,000 Nm³/hr hydrogen production capacity

• UHDE-designed syngas reformer

• Linde-designed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit

• Major equipment manufactured in 2009

• Equipment that had never been installed or operated

• A complete plant package suitable for evaluation, relocation and reuse

Rather than purchasing individual pieces of equipment, the buyer had the opportunity to acquire major components of an already engineered hydrogen production system.

For Saras, the transaction also solved a different problem: valuable process equipment that had remained in storage for years could finally be monetized rather than continuing to sit idle.

Technical Evaluation and Integration

Buying an existing process plant requires more than confirming nameplate capacity. The buyer must also evaluate equipment condition, process design, documentation, configuration and the ability to integrate the assets into a new facility.

For this project, the hydrogen plant was evaluated for incorporation into the hydrogen supply infrastructure supporting the Vertex renewable diesel conversion.

ThyssenKrupp AG provided technical services to the new plant owner to support integration of the existing hydrogen plant assets into the new project.

This technical work helped transform equipment originally manufactured for one refinery project into production assets capable of serving an entirely different facility and commercial application.

Plant Acquisition and Relocation

Phoenix Equipment managed the transaction and relocation of the complete plant from Italy to the United States.

The project demonstrated one of the central advantages of the secondary process plant market: valuable production capacity does not necessarily need to remain tied to the facility for which it was originally designed.

When process technology, capacity, equipment condition and project economics align, an existing plant can be redeployed to another location and become part of an entirely new production strategy.

At the same time, the original owner can recover significant value from assets that might otherwise remain unused indefinitely.

Project Highlights

Plant: 35,000 Nm³/hr Hydrogen Plant
Application: Hydrogen Supply for Vertex Renewable Diesel Refinery Conversion
Original Owner: Saras
Original Location: Italy
New Location: United States
Equipment Status: Unused / Never Installed
Plant Acquisition & Relocation: Phoenix Equipment
Project Timeframe: September 2021 – November 2022
Project Value: Approximately $10 million

The Buyer’s Result

By acquiring the unused Saras hydrogen plant through Phoenix Equipment, the industrial gas supplier obtained substantial hydrogen production capacity at a fraction of the cost of purchasing comparable new equipment.

More importantly, the availability of an existing plant reduced equipment lead time to months rather than the substantially longer schedule associated with a new plant, helping the supplier support the aggressive schedule of Vertex Energy’s renewable diesel conversion.

Strategic Advantages for the Buyer

• Lower capital investment than purchasing comparable new hydrogen production assets

• Shorter equipment lead time, with existing equipment available for relocation rather than waiting for new fabrication

• Unused major process equipment from established technology providers

• Existing engineered plant configuration that could be evaluated and adapted to a new project

• Faster path to hydrogen production capacity for a time-sensitive refinery conversion

• Phoenix support through acquisition and international relocation

The Seller’s Result

For Saras, the transaction demonstrated the value of finding a new market for surplus process assets.

The hydrogen plant had been manufactured for a project that was never completed and had remained unused for more than a decade. Rather than continuing to carry an idle asset with no planned operational use, Saras was able to realize substantial financial recovery from the sale of the plant.

Strategic Advantages for Saras

• Substantial payment for equipment that was no longer expected to be used

• Recovery of value from a stranded capital asset

• Avoidance of continued long-term storage and asset-management costs

• Productive redeployment of equipment that otherwise might never have entered service

• Transfer of the plant to a buyer capable of putting the equipment into commercial use

A Second Life for a Major Process Plant

The Saras hydrogen plant project illustrates how the secondary process plant market can create substantial value for both sides of a transaction.

The original owner recovered significant value from a major capital asset that had remained unused for years. The new owner acquired high-quality hydrogen production equipment at a lower capital cost and on a much shorter schedule than a conventional new-build project.

Instead of allowing an engineered plant to remain stranded in storage, the equipment was evaluated, sold, relocated across continents and redeployed to support new industrial production.

For buyers, this approach can provide a faster and more capital-efficient path to production capacity.

For owners of surplus plants, it can turn equipment with no future internal use into meaningful financial recovery.