A coalition that includes Indiana, Illinois and Michigan is one of seven selected by the Biden administration for a $7 billion program to create clean hydrogen hubs in the US
Biden is expected to make the official announcement during an economic-themed visit to Philadelphia on Friday.
Gov. Eric Holcomb's office says the U.S. Department of Energy will award up to $1 billion in a grant to the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, or MachH2, which is made up of more than 70 Midwest public and private organizations.
In Indiana, these organizations include Energy Systems Network, Indiana Economic Development Corp., Cummins Inc. based in Columbus, Purdue University, London-based BP Plc and others.
The proposed regional hydrogen hub would involve the production of so-called blue hydrogen at or near BP's refinery in the northwest town of Whiting, Indiana.
Blue hydrogen is produced by converting natural gas into carbon dioxide and hydrogen, with the CO2 stored underground. Low-carbon hydrogen fuel can be used in a variety of sectors, including steelmaking, power generation and agriculture.
“We are ecstatic that Indiana is the recipient of this monumental investment,” Holcomb said in a news release. “This funding has the potential to support the unprecedented financial investment proposed by BP that will cement Indiana's pole position in the new energy economy. This grant could advance this project as a critical piece of this new hydrogen ecosystem.
The White House calls clean hydrogen “essential to achieving the president's vision of a strong clean energy economy” and zero greenhouse gas emissions in the US by 2050.
“As a clean fuel, hydrogen complements the role played by other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to help the U.S. reduce emissions in energy-intensive sectors of the economy: steel and cement production, heavy-duty transportation and shipping. “, the White House said in a statement.
The seven hubs selected by the administration will spur more than $40 billion in private investment and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, the White House said, including many high-paying union jobs.
Indiana has already taken steps to produce hydrogen made possible through the regional hub. In September 2022, Holcomb signed into law House Enrolled Act 1209, which created a regulatory framework for companies to store sequestered carbon dioxide underground in Indiana.
Under the new law, companies can send sequestered carbon emissions into underground caverns through pipelines to be stored.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Energy Systems Network CEO Paul Mitchell said the state is well-suited for carbon capture and sequestration.
“Indiana has some underground geology — they're called saline aquifers, typically — that are strong and really ideal for carbon sequestration and sequestration,” Mitchell said. “There are some in the northern part of the state in particular, but there are other pockets of the states where we know these formations exist. It can be really transformative not just for hydrogen production but just for carbon sequestration in general.”
Also that month, Holcomb signed a Memorandum of Understanding with seven other states aimed at securing federal funds to create a hydrogen ecosystem in the region.
Nearly every state had signed on to at least one proposed hub, and many are working together, hoping to reap the economic growth and thousands of jobs it would bring. Major fossil fuel companies, renewable energy developers and researchers at universities and government laboratories are also involved.
Environmental groups are skeptical, arguing that while hydrogen is a clean energy source, it takes a lot of energy to produce. When made with electricity from coal or natural gas, it has a larger carbon footprint than simply burning the source fuel.
“Hydrogen is another bait and switch from a government that continues to renege on its promises to aggressively tackle climate change and help communities achieve a fair, just transition to renewable energy,” said Silas Grant, a campaigner for environmental group Center for Biological. Variety.
Holcomb's office says the award from DOE is “a recognition that the Midwest has all the critical elements for a successful hydrogen economy, including new opportunities to integrate hydrogen into existing and new production processes.”
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