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All Aboard the Hydrogen Hubs Hype Train<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday announced<\/a> its selection of 7 much anticipated regional hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), totalling $7 billion in awards. These hubs are located in various parts of the U.S.\u2014the Appalachia, California, the Gulf Coast, the Northern Great Plains, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Collectively, these hubs are expected to produce a collective three million metric tons of hydrogen annually\u201430% of DOE\u2019s 10 million metric tons\/year goal by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following table summarizes these 7 H2Hubs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hydrogen can be produced from diverse domestic resources and used across sectors. Production can be centralized or decentralized, grid-connected or off-grid, offering scalability, versatility, and regionality. Hydrogen can be produced from several technology pathways, feedstocks, and have several potential end-uses. It is no wonder that the Biden administration is all-in on the hydrogen hype train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recall that the funding opportunity announcement (DE-FOA-0002779) has three selection criteria focused on diversity: feedstock diversity, end-use diversity, and geographic diversity (see excerpt above). At first glance, the selected H2Hubs have covered these three fronts very well. But is that the whole story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 out of 7 H2Hubs (ARCH2, HyVelocity H2Hub, Heartland, and MachH2) will produce hydrogen using natural gas, a fossil fuel. This means over half of the H2 hubs will produce so-called blue hydrogen (using fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage). Right now, blue hydrogen is cheaper but dirtier than hydrogen produced from electrolysis from renewable energy and nuclear energy. Of these hubs, ARCH2 will produce hydrogen exclusively from fossil fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, industry partners backing these 4 hubs include major oil and gas companies. See the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, even the hubs that plan to produce hydrogen using electricity generated from renewable energy and\/or nuclear energy aren’t blameless either. In a previous post<\/a>, I wrote that a lot of renewable energy are waiting to be interconnected due to grid backlog. the grid is woefully outdated and there are not enough transmission lines to support the transition from a fossil fuel-based electric system to a decarbonized energy grid. This means the H2Hubs that plan to produce hydrogen from electrolysis should not divert clean energy from the grid. Otherwise emissions from electricity generation would increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Except for ARCH2, these hubs plan to use several methods for hydrogen production, but the exact mix may change depending on which projects make it through the DOE negotiations process. Although the Biden administration has emphasized that roughly two-thirds of the $7 billion pot is associated with the production of hydrogen from renewable energy, it’s too early to tell what the final result would look like (these hub demonstrations will run until around 2032, providing that they meet the milestones set by DOE.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cechronicles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Screen-Shot-2023-10-17-at-13.43.25-1024x476.png\")
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Hydrogen Hubs: A Cash Grab for Big Oil and Gas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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