A collaboration of four states on the northeastern seaboard of the US are developing a proposal to host one of four national hydrogen hubs designated by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey will apply for a tranche of the $8bn of funding to be made available for the projects by the Department of Energy (DOE) in May.

“Expanding the hydrogen market is critical to New York’s aggressive pursuit of clean-energy alternatives that will supercharge our economy and advance our climate goals,” says New York state governor Kathy Hochul.   

“Coalitions like this one serve as a model to the nation on the collaboration that is required to meet this moment and bring us closer to a carbon-neutral future.”

Accessing finance

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes $8bn for regional hydrogen hubs, $1bn for a green hydrogen electrolysis programme and $500mn for clean hydrogen manufacturing and recycling initiatives.

The funding is part of the DOE’s Hydrogen Shot initiative to cut to cost the cost of green hydrogen production to $1/kg by 2030.  

The partnership includes hydrogen production and distribution firms as well as research bodies. It also includes firms on the demand side in the industry and transport sectors.

The consortium will commission research and analysis necessary to support the hub proposal and will continue to seek additional public and private partners in the region.

$8bn – Funding available for hubs

It will seek to integrate offshore wind and solar PV into hydrogen production and deploy hydrogen for use in transportation, including for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, heavy industry, power generation and maritime applications.

The state of New York will also—through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda)— develop a green hydrogen regulatory framework, fund a demonstrator electrolyser and develop a programme to support locally owned green hydrogen-powered microgrid solutions.

Hydrogen component manufacturer Plug Power has already announced plans to build a 120MW green hydrogen production plant in the state of New York.

“Plug Power is excited to join this partnership with Nyserda,” says CEO Andy Marsh. “We look forward to working together to help New York State and northeast partners achieve our clean-energy and climate goals.”  

All four states have net-zero targets and are part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative—a regional CO₂ cap-and-trade scheme for the power sector.

Jostling for position

The consortium is the third formed among states to compete for DOE funding.

Last week. Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma formed a partnership while Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming created the Western Inter-State Hydrogen Hub in February.

Hydrogen project developer Green Hydrogen International has unveiled plans to create the world’s largest green hydrogen production and storage hub in South Texas, although this project has not formally applied for federal funding yet.

The deadline for proposals is 15 April.

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Author: Tom Young