The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 22 announced that it has opened up applications for $7 billion to establish up to 10 regional hydrogen hubs, part of a broader road map that officials described as essential to lowering emissions in industrial sectors, according to Bloomberg Law. The hub program was established by Congress in the infrastructure bill that passed last November.
“This is one of the largest investments in DOE history, going to what we believe will be a generational opportunity,” said David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy. “There is no part of that [infrastructure] bill that has gotten more attention and more interest than the hydrogen hubs piece.”
Hydrogen has drawn bipartisan interest from states. A group of Midwestern governors this week unveiled a coalition aimed at developing hydrogen as an alternative energy source to boost the region’s decarbonization efforts.
The department plans to select at least four regional hubs, with at least one from “green” hydrogen produced by renewable energy; one from “blue” hydrogen sourced from natural gas and using carbon capture and storage; and one “pink” hydrogen project from nuclear power.
“The department is seeking geographic diversity and expects to see applications that include broad groups of hydrogen stakeholders: companies, government agencies, producers and consumers, pipelines, and transportation companies,” said Kelly Cummins, Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which is managing the program.
No major changes were made to the department’s hydrogen hub strategy compared with a notice of intent released in June, Cummins said. Concept papers are due by Nov. 7, 2022, and full applications are due by April 7, 2023.
The department also released a draft of the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for public feedback. The roadmap provides an overview of the potential for hydrogen to “contribute to national decarbonization and economic development goals,” the department said.
A final version of the strategy and roadmap will be released in the coming months and updated at least every three years.
The hub program was advanced as the industry is poised to grow with a hydrogen tax credit established by the climate and tax bill passed by Congress last month.
Permitting overhaul legislation unveiled by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Sept. 21 includes giving oversight of hydrogen pipelines to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which currently regulates interstate natural gas pipelines.
Turk said the Biden administration was sensitive to concerns from environmental justice communities that hydrogen could lead to local impacts and climate emissions.
“We are doing this in a full, rigorous, environmental integrity way,” Turk said, adding he has engaged in conversation with advocacy groups and community leaders, meeting recently with the Environmental Defense Fund to talk about how to define clean hydrogen.