The US government has unveiled plans to develop seven regional clean hydrogen hubs across the nation.
The seven hydrogen hubs will be used to spur growth in the US hydrogen market and bolster the country’s capability in supporting the clean energy carrier. This will ensure hydrogen is able to take a prominent role in the nation’s decarbonisation aspirations.
The creation of these hubs has also been backed with $50 billion (£41 billion) in funding by the government.
Once complete, the clean hydrogen hubs will be capable of collectively producing more than three million metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year, helping to achieve nearly one third of the 2030 US clean hydrogen production goal.
The seven clean hydrogen hubs include:
- Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub
- Appalachian Hydrogen Hub
- California Hydrogen Hub
- Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub
- Heartland Hydrogen Hub
- Midwest Hydrogen Hub
- Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub
A look at the seven clean hydrogen hubs
The Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub will span the Delaware River and include Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey and help unlock hydrogen-driven decarbonisation in the Mid-Atlantic while repurposing historic oil infrastructure and using existing rights-of-way. It will receive up to $750 million in funding.
Plans include the development of renewable hydrogen production facilities from renewable and nuclear electricity using both established and new electrolyser technologies, where it can help reduce costs and drive further technology adoption.
The Appalachian Hydrogen Hub will be located across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and leverage the region’s ample access to low-cost natural gas to produce low-cost clean hydrogen and permanently and safely store the associated carbon emissions. It will receive up to $925 million.
The government said that the strategic location of the hydrogen hub and the development of hydrogen pipelines, multiple hydrogen fuelling stations, and permanent carbon storage also have the potential to drive down the cost of hydrogen distribution and storage.
The California Hydrogen Hub will leverage the state’s leadership in clean energy technology to produce hydrogen exclusively from both renewable energy and biomass. This will then be used to support the expansion of hydrogen’s use in public transportation, heavy-duty trucking and port operations. It will receive up to $1.2 billion.
Moving onto the next hub, the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub will be situated in the Houston, Texas, region, with the funding to be used to help kickstart the clean hydrogen economy. This will help the region explore large-scale hydrogen production through both natural gas with carbon capture and renewables-powered electrolysis and leverage the Gulf Coast region’s renewable energy and natural gas supply to drive down the cost of hydrogen. It will receive up to $1.2 billion.
The Heartland Hydrogen Hub will be located across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, and will harness the state’s renewable resources to decarbonise the agricultural sector’s production of fertiliser, decrease the regional cost of clean hydrogen and advance the use of clean hydrogen in electric generation and for cold climate space heating.
Located across Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, the Midwest Hydrogen Hub is set to be located across what is known as a key industrial and transportation corridor in the US. The hub will specifically support hydrogen’s integration for steel and glass production, power generation, refining, heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Much like the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub, the Midwest Hub will also produce hydrogen using nuclear energy to create what is known as pink hydrogen. It will receive up to $1 billion.
The final hub to receive support is the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub which will be located across Washington, Oregon and Montana. This hub intends to use the region’s renewable resources to produce clean hydrogen exclusively from renewable sources. It’s anticipated that the widescale use of electrolysers will play a key role in driving down electrolyser costs, making the technology more accessible to other producers, and reducing the cost of hydrogen production. It will receive up to $1 billion.
Current±’s publisher Solar Media will host the Green Hydrogen Summit USA on 27-28 February 2024 in Seattle. The event will explore green hydrogen role in shipping, its production, supply chains, financing and renewable hydrogen derivatives and their applications. For more information, go to the website.
