The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded California the first $30 million in government funds to establish a regional clean hydrogen hub (H2Hub).
After being chosen for a total of $1.2 billion in H2Hub funding in October of last year, the DOE and the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) hub inked a $12.6 billion deal to construct the hub.
In addition to the $1.2 billion from the DOE, $11.4 billion in public and private money has been committed, according to ARCHES, to the development and expansion of sustainable energy infrastructure throughout the state.
Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, described the official signing of the DOE cooperative agreement as a “pivotal milestone” in the state’s pursuit of carbon neutrality. She expressed anticipation for seeing Californians contributing to the creation of a future that would benefit everyone in the state, highlighting that this future would be powered by clean, renewable hydrogen.
ARCHES, one of the seven DOE H2Hubs that have been chosen, intends to create 220,000 direct jobs by utilizing the 16 green hydrogen initiatives, two blue hydrogen programs, two existing hydrogen pipelines, and infrastructure for vehicle refueling in California.
Angelina Galiteva, CEO of ARCHES, expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with project partners, stakeholders, and diverse communities across the state to ensure the success of the project. She also conveyed gratitude to the DOE for its dedication to creating a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem and marketplace.
The hub has now outlined concrete objectives, such as constructing more than 60 hydrogen filling stations to service 5,000 heavy-duty trucks and more than 1,000 buses, as well as swapping out diesel-powered cargo handling equipment in the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland with hydrogen counterparts.
It further stated that key power plants in the Northern California Power Agency and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would switch to 100% green hydrogen.
The release also stated that distributed fuel cells will be used to support grid operations throughout the state and to provide resilience in key regions of the state.
According to the hub, other partners and initiatives that will get money will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Notwithstanding the financial assistance, ARCHES and the other six centers have criticized the US government’s proposed regulations pertaining to green hydrogen, namely the production tax credits (PTC) provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Hub leaders stated that the PTC’s proposed three pillar rules—hourly matching, geographic correlation, and additionality—for power supplying electrolysers may have far-reaching consequences for the US clean hydrogen industry in a joint letter to the Treasury Secretary and senior White House officials.
Originally intended to spur $40 billion in private investment in hydrogen and generate over 330,000 employment, H2Hub executives issued a warning, stating that these benefits would not fully materialize” absent a significant revision to the Treasury’s advice.
