The California Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub have garnered a mixed $57.5 million within the first tranche of funding below the Division of Vitality’s (DOE’s) $7 billion Regional Clear Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program.
H2Hubs, managed by DOE’s Workplace of Clear Vitality Demonstrations (OCED), is backed by funding from the Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act (IIJA), which designates $7 billion for establishing six to 10 regional “clear hydrogen” hubs nationwide. In line with the DOE, the program basically seeks to kickstart a nationwide community of hydrogen producers, shoppers, and native connective infrastructure “to speed up using hydrogen as a clear power provider that may ship or retailer large quantities of power.” The funding, half of a bigger $8 billion IIJA package deal, shall be met with the H2Hubs selectees’ value share of greater than $40 billion.
The primary awards to the California Hydrogen Hub and PNWH2 this month mark progress for the bold initiative that would facilitate the manufacturing, supply, storage, and end-use of three million metric tons of “clear hydrogen” per 12 months, attaining almost a 3rd of the U.S.’s 2030 clear hydrogen manufacturing purpose, the DOE has mentioned. The OEDC, in October 2023, chosen 5 different tasks of a number of vying for the profitable billion-dollar alternative first launched in September 2022.
The DOE suggests the awards conform to federal steering for what constitutes “clear hydrogen.” Clear hydrogen, it mentioned, “refers to hydrogen produced by means of electrolysis—separating liquid water into hydrogen—utilizing renewable or low-carbon emissions power sources, similar to wind, photo voltaic or nuclear. Clear hydrogen may confer with hydrogen produced utilizing steam methane reforming with carbon seize and everlasting storage (CCS) applied sciences that scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions.”
ARCHES Will get $30M for California Hydrogen Hub
On July 17, the OCED awarded the California Hydrogen Hub—led by the Alliance for Renewable Clear Hydrogen Vitality Methods (ARCHES)—$30 million out of the entire undertaking federal value share of as much as $1.2 billion to start Section 1 of the undertaking plan.
ARCHES’ undertaking—estimated at about $186 million—envisions a number of hydrogen manufacturing services at 10 websites all through California (with most within the Central Valley) to provide “a whole lot of metric tons per day (MTPD)” by means of renewables and biogenic sources. ARCHES remains to be figuring out last siting for undertaking areas throughout California, OCED mentioned.
Finish-users will embrace energy producers. The Los Angeles Division of Water and Energy (LADWP) will look to transition its current 778-MW Scattergood plant in Los Angeles—at the moment comprised of six gas-fired combustion mills—to a rapid-response mixed cycle system that shall be able to working a mix of pure gasoline and hydrogen. The 346-MW “Scattergood Producing Station 1 and a pair of Inexperienced Hydrogen-Prepared Modernization Undertaking,” recognized as an integral part of LADWP’s Draft 2022 Strategic Lengthy-Time period Sources Plan (SLTRP), is envisioned to be totally operational by the tip of 2029. A significant a part of the undertaking envisions deploying an air-cooled condenser to adjust to California’s once-through cooling coverage.
Northern California Energy Company (NCPA) is, in the meantime, trying to transition its 2012-opened (and later upgraded) 300-MW Lodi Vitality Heart (LEC) to hydrogen energy. The undertaking makes use of Siemens Vitality SGT6-5000F generators, which might already burn as much as 45% hydrogen. NCPA is now additionally creating the Lodi Hydrogen Heart. The undertaking, anticipated to be accomplished by summer time 2027, will make the most of recycled wastewater from the close by Lodi Wastewater Air pollution Management Facility as feedstock and extra renewable power to provide hydrogen on-site to energy the LEC.
Along with these tasks, ARCHES anticipates creating and constructing “distributed gasoline cells” that shall be used “to help grid operations all through the state and to supply resilience in key areas of the state, together with on the Federally Acknowledged reservation of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians.”
Amongst different noteworthy tasks is the hub’s growth of the Scripps Marine Vessel, a “first-of-its-kind hydrogen-powered 140-foot, 50-person marine” analysis vessel, which is anticipated to make use of liquid hydrogen “to exchange tens of hundreds of gallons of diesel gasoline per 12 months.”
The ARCHES undertaking will even comprise greater than 60 hydrogen fueling stations, serving greater than 5,000 Class 6-8 vehicles and 1,000 gasoline cell electrical buses. Beneath the 18-month Section 1 of the undertaking, ARCHES plans to finish planning and growth actions.
Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub Kicks Off Section 1
On July 24, OCED individually awarded the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub—led by the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Affiliation (PNWH2)—$27.5 million out of a complete federal value share of as much as $1 billion to start Section 1 of its plan. The 12 to 18-month Section 1, which is able to contain “planning and growth actions,” has an estimated complete undertaking quantity of $125 million.
PNWH2’s undertaking seeks to create a hydrogen “ecosystem” by connecting eight nodes throughout Washington, Oregon, and Montana. “The Hub plans to include a number of tasks in distinct Hub nodes (undertaking teams) throughout the area and produce all of its hydrogen by way of electrolysis utilizing clear, carbon-free power, facilitating better connectivity and growth of a clear West Coast freight community that hyperlinks to the California Hydrogen Hub,” OCED mentioned.
“As soon as your entire award is full, the Hub intends to deploy electrolysis—a hydrogen manufacturing course of that splits hydrogen from water—at scale by producing not less than 335 metric tons per day of unpolluted hydrogen powered by not less than 95% carbon-free power feedstock and finally attaining 100% carbon-free power feedstock by 2035.”
After PNWH2 wraps up Section 1, it intends to start Section 2, which incorporates finalizing engineering designs and enterprise growth, website entry, labor agreements, allowing, offtake agreements, and group engagement actions. Section 3 will give attention to implementation—set up, integration, and building actions—and is anticipated to final roughly 2 to 4 years. Section 4 will ramp up the H2Hub to full operations over an estimated 2 to 4 years, together with knowledge assortment to research the H2Hub’s operations, efficiency, and monetary viability.
Not less than 4 nodes are affiliated with energy technology. In Centralia, Washington, Fortescue Future Industries, in partnership with First Mode, Puget Sound Vitality, Amazon, and Centralia Faculty, plans to website a 300-MW electrolyzer undertaking on a 137-acre remediated coal mine adjoining to TransAlta’s Centralia coal energy plant, which is slated for closure in 2025. “The proposed facility will produce inexperienced hydrogen at scale to be used domestically within the Pacific Northwest in heavy-duty transportation, grid reliability, maritime, industrial processes, and different hard-to-abate sectors,” the corporate has mentioned. The undertaking might start building in 2026 and be accomplished in 2028.
In St. Regis, Montana, St. Regis Photo voltaic plans to implement hydrogen manufacturing by way of proton change membrane (PEM) electrolysis to develop a hydrogen refueling station for heavy-duty transportation alongside the I-90 hall. Different “potential” finish makes use of might embrace energy for an information heart, aviation (drones), and long-duration power storage for peaking energy supposed all through the area.
In Ferndale, Washington, ALA Renewable Vitality with HTEC Hydrogen Know-how & Vitality Corp wish to produce hydrogen for heavy-duty transportation, refineries, and energy technology, that includes an electrolysis-based manufacturing plant, hydrogen liquefaction plant, and cryogenic storage tanks. Likewise, in Boardman, Oregon, MHI Hydrogen Infrastructure, Williams Discipline Companies Group, and utility Portland Normal Electrical (PGE) plan to develop an “electrolysis-based hydrogen manufacturing plant, hydrogen liquefaction plant, and liquid hydrogen cryogenic storage tanks producing clear hydrogen for end-uses, together with peaking energy, refinery, transit buses, port gear, and as much as 10 heavy-duty truck refueling stations.”
Different nodes within the hub will give attention to supporting the hydrogen provide chain for heavy-duty transportation, producing hydrogen for inexperienced fertilizer, offering hydrogen for transportation and cement manufacturing, and supporting clear public transit with hydrogen refueling stations.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
