Maine and Rhode Island will join New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey to create a consortium that will apply for federal funding this fall to develop a regional hydrogen hub, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.
The coalition — which includes 14 private sector industry leaders, 12 utilities, 20 hydrogen technology original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), 10 universities and two transportation companies — will compete for $2 billion matching grants from the U.S. Department of Energy early next year.
It has agreed to work with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York Power Authority and Empire State Development on a proposal to advance clean hydrogen projects in the Northeast, according to Hochul’s office. The proposal will center climate and environmental justice while also looking to boost the economies and quality of life in each state involved, it said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul | Darren McGee, Office of Governor
“Building a robust and connected clean hydrogen market across the Northeast will provide a game-changing clean energy alternative that will transform our ability to meet our shared climate goals while advancing 21st century innovation and stimulating strong economic growth throughout the region,” Hochul said in a statement.
The hydrogen hub grants were authorized in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021, providing $8 billion for four regional hydrogen hubs, $1 billion for research to bring down the cost of hydrogen electrolysis and $500 million to support equipment manufacturing.
DOE said it will issue a request for proposals in September or October, with final applications due in the first quarter of 2023. The department issued an initial request for information earlier this year.
The Battelle Institute, which administers nine National Laboratories, said earlier this summer that multistate applications would have a better chance of winning funding. The independent research lab is working with Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in an effort to plan a regional hub creating and using hydrogen made from natural gas, which is plentiful in the region.
There are also efforts to create hydrogen hub groups in Oregon and Washington state, and a Gulf Coast hub from Louisiana to Texas, centered in Houston. Four Western states — New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming — announced intentions in February to create a hub. And New Mexico is considering switching a power plant to hydrogen. Southern California Gas unveiled a plan in February to build a pipeline to transport hydrogen from Mojave Desert to customers in the Los Angeles Basin.
“I am proud to have Rhode Island join the New York-led Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub as we explore the amazing potential that hydrogen offers, not only as an additional clean energy resource, with broad applications across our transportation and industrial sectors, but also by adding new jobs to our economy,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement.
Dan Burgess, director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office, said clean hydrogen is “an exciting technology with potential for economic growth that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.”
The Northeast Clean Energy Council, a major policy player in the region, is another of the coalition’s new partners. So are Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Siena College and the University of Connecticut. And energy companies including EDP Renewables North America, Equinor and Edgewise Energy have joined as well.