And many of the industry coalitions that have advertised their participation in the competition have not offered key details on their plans, such as the production methods for their proposed hub and their expected rate of CO2 emissions. The hub, which is also supported by the state’s Republican governor, Jim Justice, and a coalition of natural gas, chemical and ammonia producers, is expected to apply for DOE funds.īut so far, the identities of many applicants to the DOE program - and the details of what they want to do - remain a mystery.Īfter receiving a flood of 79 “concept papers” outlining ideas for a hydrogen hub, DOE whittled down the field in December by encouraging the authors of 33 concept papers to submit a full application.īut DOE has declined to reveal which companies and states were behind those concept papers. On Tuesday, Manchin’s office announced plans for what it described as a multibillion-dollar “anchor project” for a West Virginia hydrogen hub - an ammonia production facility that would use carbon capture. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. They also include federal lawmakers like Sen. Mike Dunleavy, who has backed using natural gas and carbon capture to make “blue” hydrogen. They include Democratic governors in New York and California, who want to promote “green” hydrogen made from renewable electricity and water, and Alaska’s Republican Gov. State officials in every region of the country have backed industry coalitions that participated in an earlier phase of the hub competition, DOE said late last year ( Energywire, Jan. Governors, state energy officials and even federal lawmakers have expressed eagerness to lure a share of hydrogen hub funds to their districts. Here are four things to watch as DOE selects the hubs: Who’s chasing the money? Some of the nation’s largest energy companies have sponsored research finding that the hydrogen hubs program may not blossom into a nationwide industry for the fuel - at least not without new forms of help from the federal government ( Energywire, Feb. DOE’s Office of Inspector General has questioned whether the department is ready to efficiently disburse billions of dollars for clean energy demonstrations while controlling for fraud and waste ( Energywire, Aug. Many of those groups are wary that publicly funded hubs could still emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases, endanger residents when hydrogen is stored or transported, suck up scarce water resources, prolong the burning of natural gas, or release pollutants that exacerbate respiratory illness.įederal watchdogs and House Republicans also are watching public spending on the hubs and developers’ ability to meet targets. The hubs’ designs are likely to draw intense scrutiny from environmentalists, emissions researchers and pipeline safety advocates, however. Natural gas companies are eager to blend hydrogen into existing pipelines. Administration officials like Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm often describe clean hydrogen as a new business opportunity for oil and gas companies that would align with U.S. Hydrogen is a focus for the Biden administration, which sees clean production of it as a must for achieving climate goals - especially for the decarbonization of manufacturing and other hard-to-electrify processes.įederal subsidies are also an olive branch to the oil and gas industry. Nichole Saunders, a senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the hydrogen hubs “will represent the U.S.’s first attempt at demonstrating what quote, unquote clean hydrogen might look like.” Yet DOE’s hydrogen hub process is facing tough questions, particularly on whether the fuel will really prove to be as cheap, clean and abundant as its backers say. Hydrogen advocates ultimately hope the competition will plant the seed of a broader clean industry, in tandem with the Inflation Reduction Act’s new tax credits for the fuel’s production. Six to 10 projects are expected to be selected this year. Under the infrastructure law, DOE is required to select a mix of hubs that use a variety of fuels in the production process, including renewables and fossil fuels.
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