The U.S. Department of Energy is rolling out the first installment of its $1 billion commitment to ramp up clean hydrogen production in the Midwest, part of a bid by the Biden administration to lock in a nationwide roadmap for decarbonization.
The Midwest Hydrogen Hub, which is set to span Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan, was awarded $22.2 million late last month as part of a billion-dollar federal cost share grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The hub “aims to decarbonize a variety of industries such as manufacturing, steel and glass production, power generation, refining, and heavy-duty transportation through the use of clean hydrogen,” according to a Department of Energy factsheet.
Local environmentalists, however, are taking issue with how the project is classifying “clean hydrogen,” and warn that the hub will simply allow oil and gas companies to continue business as usual without cutting emissions.
“These hubs are being built across the country in our backyards, without transparency, without our consent, and under the lie that hydrogen is a clean energy source and magic wand that will solve climate change,” said Lisa Vallee, organizing director with Just Transition Northwest Indiana, an environmental justice organization. Her group and others in Northwest Indiana have raised concerns about a hydrogen production facility that fossil fuel giant BP is considering building near its oil refinery, as part of the Midwest hub.
The hydrogen network is being led by the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, also known as MachH2, a collection of public and private entities including manufacturers and universities across the region.
According to project organizers, the network will produce more than 1,000 metric tons per day of clean hydrogen using wind power, natural gas, and nuclear energy. It has the potential of cutting approximately 3.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year from heavily polluting industries — the equivalent to taking more than 867,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road every year. It is also projected to create some 12,000 jobs over its lifetime.
The $22.2 million investment will allow the hub to explore eight proposed projects to produce, transport, and store hydrogen across the four Midwestern states. Plans include a retrofitting public transit in Flint, Michigan, with hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Buses; constructing a new hydrogen facility in Whiting, Indiana, that would mitigate emissions with carbon capture; and a nuclear powered hydrogen production facility in northern Illinois.
“Our fleet of always-on nuclear power plants in Illinois is helping to power our economic growth with clean energy today and positions us to be a leader in the clean hydrogen future,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement.
The phase one funding is part of a $7 billion pledge by the Biden administration to fast-track clean hydrogen production via the development of seven regional hydrogen hubs spanning over a dozen states. Three other regional hydrogen hubs covering Appalachia, California, and Pacific Northwest landed their first phase of federal funding, a total of $87.5 million, earlier this year.
And while President Trump has taken an oppositional stance on federally funded clean energy projects, MachH2 officials are optimistic about the future of the project, “regardless of changes that ebb-and-flow between administrations,” said Neil Banwart, the chief integration officer at the Midwest hub.
Hydrogen, an abundant and odorless gas, has captured the attention of industries and policymakers alike as a potentially significant carbon-free fuel source. To make hydrogen, electricity is used to split hydrogen molecules from water. But this process is energy intensive, and where that energy comes from makes climate advocates question the “clean” branding.
Hydrogen production is color-coded based on the energy source used to produce it. Green hydrogen, for example, denotes that the power comes from renewables, like solar or wind. Pink hydrogen sources its power from nuclear energy. Blue hydrogen comes from natural gas and then traps emissions using carbon capture. When it comes to defining “clean hydrogen,” environmental advocates want to draw the line at green. But according to Banwart, the Midwest Hydrogen Hub will count all three as carbon-cutting options.
“If you look at the carbon intensity of all of our projects, which will be measured throughout the life of this hub, you will find the carbon intensity is very low,” Banwart said. “And thus, all three forms of production would be true, clean hydrogen.”
The vast majority of hydrogen manufactured in the United States today is produced with natural gas. Advocates say that anything that keeps fossil fuels online — including natural gas — isn’t clean.
“We’re seeing that a lot of the same fossil fuel companies… want to keep their assets online,” said Lauren Piette, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental law organization. “Hydrogen has the potential to help us decarbonize if it is made in a way that is truly clean,” she said, but a lot of companies “see hydrogen as a way to greenwash their dirty projects of the past.”
According to MachH2 officials, the project’s initial $22.2 million dollar installment will go toward planning, design, and community and labor engagement. This phase is expected to last 18 months, with construction still years away.
