Biden hydrogen hubs overview:
- Who: The Biden administration has announced seven regional clean hydrogen hubs will receive $7 billion in federal funding.
- Why: The funding was granted as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in an effort to boost the domestic market for cheaper clean hydrogen.
- Where: The clean hydrogen hubs are located in regions throughout the continental United States.
The Biden administration has chosen seven regional clean hydrogen hubs to receive a total of $7 billion in federal funding, Law360 reports.
The clean hydrogen hubs are throughout the continental United States and will seek to produce more than 3 million metric tons of clean hydrogen each year.
The Biden hydrogen hubs are each named according to their regions: Mid-Atlantic, Appalachian, California, Gulf Coast, Heartland, Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
The $7 billion in funding was granted as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s effort to boost the domestic market for clean hydrogen at a low cost.
“With this historic investment, the Biden-Harris Administration is laying the foundation for a new, American-led industry that will propel the global clean energy transition while creating high quality jobs and delivering healthier communities in every pocket of the nation,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said.
Environmental groups concerned about use of clean energy hubs’ use of fossil fuels
About two-thirds of the $7 billion investment will be used for the production of green, or electrolysis-based, hydrogen. According to the administration, this is the “cleanest” version of “clean” hydrogen. The production process for electrolysis-based hydrogen uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The California and Pacific Northwest clean energy hubs intend to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy and biomass.
The Appalachian hub will produce “blue” hydrogen, which is produced using natural gas together with carbon capture technology to store the carbon emissions. Environmental groups have challenged the “clean” qualifier because some of the hubs rely on fossil fuels to produce hydrogen.
“Using fossil fuels to create ‘clean’ energy is an expensive and cynical scam,” Jim Walsh, the policy director of Food & Water Watch, said, according to Law360. “The industry wants us to believe that it will be able to capture the climate pollution generated by hydrogen production, but there is zero evidence that will work, and plenty of evidence showing it will fail to deliver on climate goals.”
The White House says the Biden energy hubs are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from end uses per year, Law360 reported. The clean energy hubs are also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.
The Department of Energy has also reportedly invested $1 billion in a clean hydrogen electrolysis program and $500 million for clean hydrogen manufacturing and recycling.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would waive 26 federal laws to construct a border wall on the southern border of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
What do you think about the Biden hydrogen hubs? Join the discussion in the comments.
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