US announces $7bn for seven clean hydrogen hubs

US President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said October 13 seven regional hydrogen hubs have been selected to receive $7bn in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to accelerate the domestic market for clean hydrogen.

The seven selected hubs will catalyse more than $40bn in private investment and bring total public and private investment in hydrogen hubs to more than $50bn, the White House said in a statement.

Collectively, the hubs are targeting the production of more than 3mn tonnes/year of hydrogen, either green hydrogen through electrolysis or blue hydrogen incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS). They are expected to capture and store 25mn tonnes/year of CO₂ from end uses.

The seven hubs will now enter the award negotiation phase with the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).

The hubs selected for negotiation, and negotiated funding values, include:

• The Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey to produce green hydrogen, up to $750mn; 
• The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, producing blue hydrogen with CCS, up to $925mn; 
• The California Hydrogen Hub, to produce hydrogen from renewable energy and biomass, up to $1.25bn; 
• The Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, also known as the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub in Texas, to produce both blue hydrogen with CCS and green hydrogen powered by renewable electricity, up to $1.2bn; 
• The Heartland Hydrogen Hub in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, which will help decarbonise the production of fertiliser, decrease the cost of hydrogen and advance the use of hydrogen in electric generation, up to $925mn; 
• The Midwest Hydrogen Hub, being developed by the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan to produce hydrogen using natural gas and CCS, renewable electricity and nuclear energy, up to $1.2bn, and; 
• The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub in Washington, Oregon and Montana, which will produce green hydrogen from renewable electricity, up to $1bn.