$7 Billion Clear Hydrogen Hubs Function Inexperienced Hydrogen The Most

As promised, the Biden administration is shifting full steam forward with its plan to ascertain a community of hydrogen hubs within the US, with the Vitality Division carving up a $7 billion pot of funding for the trouble by a provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation. Because the plans took form final yr, it appeared that inexperienced hydrogen would seize the lion’s share of funding. Nonetheless, the legislation additionally requires a seat on the desk for fossil power stakeholders, so let’s see how that panned out.

Inexperienced Hydrogen: So A lot Profitable!

The brand new Regional Clear Hydrogen Hubs program launched in 2022 as an $8 billion program. If you realize what occurred to the opposite $1 billion, drop us a be aware within the remark thread.

In the meantime, this morning the Vitality Division introduced the seven profitable hubs, and the fallout is just about what you’d count on.

The large winner is the most important sub-national financial system on the planet, and one of many greatest single markets for vehicles and different autos on the planet.

In case you guessed California, run proper out and purchase your self a cigar. If California was its personal financial system, it could nonetheless rank 4th or perhaps fifth amongst all of the nations of the world, relying on who’s counting.

The Vitality Division awarded the California Hydrogen Hub (aka the Alliance for Renewable Clear Hydrogen Vitality Techniques  or ARCHES) as much as $1.2 billion to provide inexperienced hydrogen from renewable power, primarily that means water electrolysis. Techniques that draw hydrogen from biomass additionally qualify below the award.

That’s it. Simply inexperienced hydrogen from water, and renewable hydrogen from biomass. No pure gasoline, coal, industrial waste, or anything involving fossil power.

California has lengthy been a leader for regulation and innovation geared toward cleansing up automotive emissions within the US, and the Vitality Division expects ARCHES to leverage that standing for nationwide affect.

“The California Hydrogen Hub will leverage the Golden State’s management in clear power expertise to provide hydrogen solely from renewable power and biomass. It’s going to present a blueprint for decarbonizing public transportation, heavy responsibility trucking, and port operations — key emissions drivers within the state and sources of air air pollution which might be among the many hardest to decarbonize,” the Vitality Division enthused.

A Inexperienced Hydrogen Hub For The Mid-Atlantic Coast

With the same plan, the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub (aka Mid-Atlantic Clear Hydrogen Hub or MACH2) of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey received as much as $750 million in help of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing. Repurposing current fossil power infrastructure and rights-of-way can be a featured a part of the plan.

The area’s nuclear services may even come into play for water electrolysis. Relying on who’s speaking, that doesn’t essentially come below the “inexperienced” class, although it does leverage a zero emission useful resource. Inexperienced or not, the area has a head begin on water electrolysis by the 9-Mile Level Nuclear Energy Station in New York, which is already internet hosting a water electrolysis demonstration facility.

In case you’re questioning why Delaware, that’s an excellent query. The College of Delaware not too long ago received a $10 million Protection Division grant to ramp up its clear hydrogen and gas cell R&D packages, so which will have factored in.

One other Win For Inexperienced Hydrogen

Inexperienced hydrogen additionally notched a major victory within the Pacific Northwest, the place the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub (aka PNW H2) of Washington, Oregon, and Montana received as much as $1 billion to “leverage the area’s ample renewable assets to provide clear hydrogen solely through electrolysis.”

“It’s anticipated widescale use of electrolyzers will play a key function in driving down electrolyzer prices, making the expertise extra accessible to different producers, and decreasing the price of hydrogen manufacturing,” the Vitality Division defined, so search for inexperienced hydrogen stakeholders in different states to learn from the PNW H2 mannequin.

Montana…attention-grabbing! when you have any ideas about Montana, drop us a be aware within the remark thread.

Not-Inexperienced Hydrogen: Meh

The opposite profitable hubs are a combined bag. A few of them are going to face some severe headwinds because the local weather disaster shifts into excessive gear, native communities push again towards new fossil power infrastructure, and manufacturing stakeholders search to cull fossil sources out of their provide chains.

However, the legislation is the legislation, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation does stipulate a carve-out for pure gasoline.

Pure gasoline stakeholders within the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub (aka Appalachian Regional Clear Hydrogen Hub or ARCH2 of West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania drew the profitable quantity. Their award of $925 million will assist pound one other nail into the coffin of the area’s coal business, and substitute coal jobs with new jobs within the pure gasoline business.

Good luck with that. The Appalachian coal business was already on shaky floor within the early 2000s when shale gasoline was found within the area, subjecting residents to a brand new wave of environmental, public well being, and high quality of life impacts. Now right here comes ARCH2 to assist make sure that native communities are tied to the drill-and-extract fossil power mannequin far into the longer term.

The plans embrace new pipelines and carbon sequestration services, which may quickly be rendered out of date by new carbon-control improvements. Simply saying.

As well as, the brand new power infrastructure proposed below the plan may run afoul of the Biden administration’s environmental justice targets.

“The Administration continues to work in partnership with frontline communities and industries to construct a clear power financial system that’s equitable and attentive to most of the considerations raised by Environmental Justice communities,” the Vitality Division explains, which isn’t a very encouraging signal.

In distinction, the close by states of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan joined forces to collaborate on the Midwest Hydrogen Hub (aka Midwest Alliance for Clear Hydrogen or MachH2), nailing an award of as much as $1 billion for a extra diversified strategy geared toward decarbonizing hard-to-decarbonize industries together with metal and glassmaking, energy era, refining, aviation fuels, and heavy-duty trucking.

The area’s pure gasoline assets are within the combine, however the plan additionally leans closely on inexperienced hydrogen from renewable assets.

As with the Mid-Atlantic hub, the Mach H2 plan additionally deploys the area’s current nuclear power assets for water electrolysis. The identical Vitality Division program behind the 9 Mile venture in New York can be supporting the same water electrolysis demonstration system on the Davis-Besse Nuclear Energy Station in Ohio.

Regional Assets In Play

General, the Hydrogen Hubs program goals to reap the benefits of regional assets to assist increase native financial growth. That issue is clear within the Heartland Hydrogen Hub  composed of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, which received $925 million to assist decarbonize the area’s agriculture business.

Keep tuned for extra particulars on that. North Dakota is an attention-grabbing case as a result of it’s among the many prime 10 ethanol producers within the US, and it additionally the nation’s fifth-largest coal producing state as of 2022.

Nonetheless, the state’s rising wind energy profile has caught the attention of inexperienced hydrogen stakeholders, and plainly the Vitality Division is eyeballing the connection between inexperienced hydrogen and inexperienced ammonia to stimulate a low carbon, home-grown ammonia fertilizer business within the state.

There Goes Texas, Once more

Texas holds a novel place within the power panorama of the US. Regardless of its deep crimson politics and highly effective stake within the fossil power financial system, Texas has additionally been a frontrunner in wind and photo voltaic capability, in addition to a hotbed for different power improvements, together with inexperienced hydrogen.

Accordingly, as an alternative of hooking up with different states to use for Vitality Division funding, Texas went solo. The wager paid off. The state’s Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub (aka HyVelocity H2Hub), which is an solely Texas group, received as much as $1.2 billion for a plan to scale up hydrogen manufacturing utilizing each water electrolysis and pure gasoline with carbon seize.

Hmmm…what did ExxonMobil know and when did they realize it? On October 11 the corporate introduced its intention to buy Pioneer Pure Assets for $59.5 billion. The transfer will greater than double ExxonMobil’s footprint in Texas’s profitable Permian Basin shale play, in line with S&P International. Certain appears to be like like somebody is anticipating to make financial institution on that new Texas hydrogen hub, at the least so far as fossil-sourced hydrogen goes.

The place’s Congress?

In fact, no point out of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation is full with no point out of Republican management in Congress, or lack thereof.

On October 4, Home Republicans kicked Consultant Kevin McCarthy of California out of the all-important place of Speaker. As of this writing no substitute is in sight, and nothing can get performed till any individual occupies that chair.

In the meantime over within the Senate, Republican Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is single-handedly holding up tons of of army promotions whereas his Republican colleagues Rand Paul (Kentucky), JD Vance (Ohio), and Ted Cruz (Texas) have performed the identical to key State Division diplomatic positions, together with Israel and different international locations within the Center East.

A lot for the celebration of American Exceptionalism. If in case you have any ideas about that, drop us a be aware within the remark thread.

Picture: Hydrogen courtesy of US Division of Vitality (cropped).

Comply with me @tinamcasey on Bluesky, Threads, Put up, LinkedIn, and Spoutible.