What’s up with hydrogen hubs?

It’s been a year since the Energy Department announced long-awaited funding to help establish a network of regional clean hydrogen hubs across the country. We’re still waiting for something to come of it.

Hydrogen is hoped to one day play an important role in decarbonizing heavy industry, replacing natural gas in areas where clean electricity isn’t a practical substitute. The problem: most hydrogen produced today is made from fossil fuels using a method that emits significant greenhouse gasses.

Last October, the DOE announced it would provide $7 billion to jumpstart seven regional hubs to produce, store and transport a low-emission version of the fuel. The grants were supposed to help attract needed private investment, and hubs need to have a detailed plan ready within the next few months before they’re eligible for more federal funding.

But so far, the projects haven’t publicly disclosed how those plans or investments are coming along, Canary Media reports. The hubs also haven’t shared their potential climate and community impacts — factors that have left advocates especially concerned. After all, hydrogen hasn’t been produced on such a big scale before, and it’ll take a lot of renewable power — or carbon capture — to make it happen.

The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, which aims to burn natural gas to create hydrogen in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, provides a hint at some potential problems. A new report reveals a third of the projects slated to be part of the ARCH2 hub have been canceled, and four of its development partners have left.

ARCH2 leaders told Inside Climate News that “adjustments were expected” as the project evolved. But some companies say they withdrew from the project because it still wasn’t clear how they’d access federal hydrogen tax credits, and that’s an issue projects across the country don’t have an answer for either.

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More clean energy news

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⚡️ It’s the “age of electricity:” The world is entering an “age of electricity,” the International Energy Agency says, noting global power demand is rising faster than expected but also predicting countries will build enough solar, wind and nuclear power to meet that demand by 2030. (Axios, New York Times)

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🌀 Big grid boost: The U.S. Energy Department announces $2 billion in grants to shore up and expand the power grid, including a previously announced $612 million for areas wracked by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. (Canary Media)

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🏭 Emissions crackdown continues — for now: The U.S. Supreme Court declines to pause the Biden administration’s power plant emissions rule as it faces legal challenges, though Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion suggests those challenges may ultimately be successful. (Associated Press, E&E News)

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💰 A “bad deal” on fossil fuel taxes: Newly required disclosures to U.S. financial regulators reveal for the first time the billions of dollars fossil fuel companies have paid to world governments — and suggest the U.S. is likely “getting a bad deal” by not charging higher taxes on resource extraction. (Inside Climate News)

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🧰 Heat pumps cool down: Analysts and observers say heat pump deployment has slowed due to construction trends and the fact that federal incentives target consumers, not contractors. (Washington Post)

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🏛️ Ancient advice: Researchers learn from ancient Roman concrete as they look to devise lower-carbon alternatives to what’s used today. (New York Times)

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🔨 Delay the array? Homeowners looking to install rooftop solar panels often run into a dilemma when they learn their roofs will need to be replaced before the lifespan of their array expires. (Grist)

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🏠 Talk about inefficiency: Twenty-three states have yet to submit plans to access billions in federal funding in homeowner rebates for energy efficient upgrades, while some states are already offering the incentives. (Houston Chronicle)

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🇺🇸 Plus, some politics

• Donald Trump’s campaign brought in a wave of fossil fuel funding after promising industry executives that he’d dismantle environmental regulations, though his $14 million they gave was far short of the $1 billion he requested. (The Guardian)
• Documents reveal the oil and gas industry has drafted a detailed plan to roll back climate rules and regulations if Trump is elected next month. (Washington Post)
• Advocates look to Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record as a senator and attorney general as evidence she’d build upon the Biden administration’s environmental justice accomplishments if elected. (E&E News)
• Swing states are on track to host 44% of clean energy projects announced since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, though another $370 billion of IRA funding still remains unspent. (E&E News)

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