Pennsylvania hydrogen centers among winners of $7 billion in federal grants -October 11, 2023 at 9:40 p.m.

Two hydrogen hub projects located partly in Pennsylvania — one in the Mid-Atlantic region and the other in Appalachia — will receive a $7 billion share of federal Energy Department grants to be announced Friday, sources familiar with the matter said. Reuters on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden’s administration plans to announce the winners of up to $7 billion in federal grants from the Department of Energy to put the United States on track to produce 50 million tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050, a key component of the U.S. decarbonization plan. economy by mid-century.

These hubs are networks of hydrogen producers and consumers who will use local infrastructure to accelerate the deployment of clean hydrogen.

Hydrogen currently accounts for about 1% of U.S. energy consumption and is produced largely using fossil fuels. The Biden administration wants clean hydrogen to replace fossil fuels like natural gas and coal to power factories and other hard-to-decarbonize sectors like cement.

Together, the awards represent a major victory for Pennsylvania, a state that will help determine whether Biden returns to the White House in 2024.

The Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Center, which includes parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, will receive a $750 million grant, according to sources familiar with the upcoming announcement. The sources said Biden will celebrate the announcement on Friday during a visit to Philadelphia.

The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Center (ARCH2), which includes western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, will also receive one of the grants, two sources said. The center has received the support of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

Friday’s announcement comes after months of intense political wrangling between states from California to Pennsylvania over their share of the $7 billion to put the United States on track to produce 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021 provided up to $7 billion to launch the initiative, the Regional Clean Hydrogen Centers Program, which will help fund six to 10 regional clean hydrogen centers across the United States.

In 2022, 79 applicants sent letters expressing interest in awarding the position to DOE, and by January, DOE had selected 33 teams to move forward. In many cases, states file a joint application together. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Garrett Renshaw; Editing by Nick Ziminski and David Gregorio)