Leaders of the Ohio Clean Hydrogen Hub Alliance (OH2Hub) say they will support a West Virginia-led initiative to create a regional hydrogen hub funded by matching grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Battelle, an independent research institute headquartered in Ohio, which had initially advised OH2Hub, is expected to file the initial application for the West Virginia-centered Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) by the DOE’s Nov. 7 deadline.
DOE has $9.5 billion to help local industries and governments create as many as 10 regional hubs in which hydrogen would be produced close to where it would be used, largely by industry or in gas-fired power plants. The agency is expected to offer up to $2 billion in matching grants for each hydrogen hub.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Battelle simultaneously announced the creation of ARCH2 on Sept. 29. Pittsburgh-based EQT, the nation’s largest producer of shale gas, is one of the principal backers of the effort.
EQT CEO Toby Rice has campaigned for the creation of a hub focused on making hydrogen from natural gas, capturing the resulting carbon dioxide for injection into deep wells. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which appropriated the funds for the creation of hydrogen hubs, calls for blue hydrogen production where natural gas is plentiful.
Backers of the OH2Hub had proposed a blue hydrogen hub for Ohio because shale gas has been plentiful in the state and the state’s industries already produce 161,000 metric tons of hydrogen annually for immediate use, according to a study prepared by the Midwest Hydrogen Center of Excellence (MHCE).
MHCE, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA), Dominion Energy and Cleveland State University organized the OH2Hub effort.
“We formed the Alliance to ensure that Ohio and Ohioans would have the opportunity to reap the economic and environmental benefits that will flow from the federal government’s commitment to and massive investment in the development of clean hydrogen technology,” SARTA CEO Kirt Conrad said in a statement. “We firmly believe ARCH2 will enable us to achieve that objective. …
“We will continue to serve as a point of contact and source of information about the Hub, recruit end users, work with Battelle on drafting the formal proposal that will be submitted to the DOE, encourage the state of Ohio to formally participate in ARCH2, urge the General Assembly to pass any legislation that may be needed to facilitate the development of the hub, and encourage the business community, labor organizations, local elected officials and the public to support the ARCH2 campaign,” Conrad said.