A private, Houston-based company called AXE H2O wants to build a $1.3 billion ocean desalination plant that could potentially solve Corpus Christi’s water crisis, and provide freshwater to San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, as well.
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Could a private, $1.3 billion seawater desalination plant solve Corpus Christi’s looming water crisis? The founders of AXE H2O, the Houston-based company they established less than two months ago, think so. And it’s not just the Coastal Bend they hope to save. The company’s execs — a group of high-ranking military veterans and a chemical engineer — say they hope to provide a new source of water to San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, as well.
What is AXE H2O?
AXE H2O was founded by two retired U.S. Air Force generals — Maj. Gen. Matt Burger, who serves as CEO, and Maj. Gen. John M. Olsen, who serves as the company’s chairman — as well as Thiago Campos, a chemical engineer and Corpus Christi resident. The trio founded the company specifically for the purpose of building a privately-funded, state-of-the-art desalination plant in the Coastal Bend that would supply Corpus Christi and surrounding communities with a new source of freshwater. It would be the largest seawater desalination plant in the United States.
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How much water would the plant produce?
During a Corpus Christi City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 5, Olsen said the company hopes to construct a so-called seawater reverse osmosis, or SWRO, desalination plant capable of producing between 50 million and 150 million gallons of freshwater per day. AXE H2O said it would give the city of Corpus Christi “first right of approval refusal” since the company’s founders recognize that the Coastal Bend is on the precipice of a water crisis.
Would taxpayers pay for it?
The company further said that the billion-dollar water plant would have no up-front costs for Coastal Bend taxpayers. Instead, the project will be privately funded through private debt and “water offtake agreements” — essentially, wholesale purchases from municipalities and industrial customers. Corpus Christi would be able to purchase water from the company for $6.50 per 1,000 gallons.
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“Our business approach is quite simple… We underpin our private financing so the city doesn’t have to. It can treat it (purchasing water) solely as a capital operating expense, not a debt expense, not a bond issue,” Olsen told the city council.
How desalination works
Campos, the engineer, said the plant would “suck in” as much as 338 million gallons of seawater per day in order to produce 150 million gallons of potable water. The desalination facility would also have its own electricity supply thanks to a 90-megawatt natural gas-powered power plant. The company also plans to extract precious metals during the desalination process, such as lithium, magnesium, strontium, bromide and salt, that can then be sold to help offset operational costs and thus drive down consumer costs.
Where would the AXE H2O desalination plant be located?
Right now, the desalination plant is still in the planning phases, with 30% of its design already complete, according to city officials. But thus far, there’s no set location for its construction. Company officials proposed locating the desalination plant somewhere near the Barney M. Davis power plant where the city is already exploring the possibility of building a desalination plant in conjunction with CPS Energy.
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How soon could the AXE H2O desalination plant be operational?
Olsen said the plant could be up and running within 24 months of securing financing.
How do San Antonio and Austin factor into AXE H2O’s desalination plans?
The company’s plans extend beyond the Coastal Bend. Recognizing that the entire state of Texas is facing critical water issues, AXE H2O is proposing building a second SWRO desalination plant adjacent to the first that would produce an additional 150 million gallons per day. Company officials want to divide that water — 75 million gallons per day — for sale to the city of San Antonio and Austin.
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Why Corpus Christi city leaders are skeptical
Several members of the council — along with City Manager Peter Zanoni — expressed skepticism about the project, including the company’s nonexistence until March of this year.
“It sounds wonderful, but it’s sort of, like, too good to be true,” District 2 Councilwoman Sylvia Campos said.