Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday its selection of seven regional hydrogen centers in Appalachia, California, the Gulf Coast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and a center in ‘heartland hydrogen that includes Minnesota and the Dakotas.
- The centers are expected to produce a collective three million metric tons of hydrogen annually, equivalent to about one-third of the U.S. production goal for 2030, according to DOE.
- Each center focuses on a different application and production method for hydrogen. The selection of several centers focused on using natural gas and carbon capture to produce hydrogen drew criticism from several environmental organizations and think tanks.
Diving knowledge:
After two years and dozens of applications, the US is poised to launch seven regional hydrogen centers across the country with $7 billion in funding.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in 2021 initially allocated $8 billion to create at least four hydrogen centers, but massive interest that spurred dozens of applications led the DOE to expand the program to include at least half dozen official centers. The remaining $1 billion not dedicated to the geographic centers themselves will go toward initiatives to support clean hydrogen demand.
Friday’s selection of seven centers, each with their own area of emphasis, was not without controversy. While the Pacific Northwest center will focus on producing clean hydrogen exclusively from electrolysis, several other centers intend to focus specifically on fossil-dependent technologies. The Appalachian Hydrogen Center aims to focus on hydrogen production from natural gas, while the California Center will use biomass and the Gulf Coast Center will use natural gas and carbon capture.
“Our research has shown that the government is significantly underestimating the impact of blue hydrogen production [derived from fossil fuels] on global warming,” David Schlissel, director of resource planning analysis at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said in a statement. “The reality is that blue hydrogen is not clean or low in carbon Pursuing this technology is a waste of precious time and diverts attention from investing in more effective measures to combat global warming such as wind and solar resources, battery storage and energy efficiency.”
Several of the centers will also focus on specific end uses of hydrogen. California will focus on heavy trucking and transportation, while Heartland’s hydrogen center in the Dakotas and Minnesota will emphasize fertilizer production for the region’s agricultural sector. The Midwest Hydrogen Center consisting of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan will focus on decarbonizing heavy industry, including steel and glass production, as well as power generation.
Meanwhile, the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey will focus on using nuclear power to produce clean hydrogen.
“Today, we are on the cusp of a significant breakthrough in the pursuit of cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions,” Sasha Mackler, executive director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Program, said in a statement. “The H2Hubs program represents a monumental step toward harnessing the potential of clean hydrogen to decarbonize multiple sectors, address our pressing environmental challenges, and launch a new clean economy.”
While Friday’s announcement included funding allocations for each of the individual centers, it also indicated that negotiations and funding choices are not final. The centers announced Friday will be subject to a negotiation process, and the DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection of a center during that process, according to the announcement.
