California, Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hubs Secure First Tranche of $7B Federal Awards
The California Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub have garnered a combined $57.5 million in the first tranche of funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program.
H2Hubs, managed by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), is backed by funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which designates $7 billion for establishing six to ten regional “clean hydrogen” hubs nationwide. According to the DOE, the program essentially seeks to kickstart a national network of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure “to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier that can deliver or store tremendous amounts of energy.” The funding, part of a larger $8 billion IIJA package, will be met with the H2Hubs selectees’ cost share of more than $40 billion.
The first awards to the California Hydrogen Hub and PNWH2 this month mark progress for the ambitious initiative that could facilitate the production, delivery, storage, and end-use of 3 million metric tons of “clean hydrogen” per year, achieving nearly a third of the U.S.’s 2030 clean hydrogen production goal, the DOE has said. The OEDC, in October 2023, selected five other projects of several vying for the lucrative billion-dollar opportunity first introduced in September 2022.
| For a detailed overview of the seven selected hydrogen hubs, see our in-depth October 2023 feature: “U.S. Unveils Seven Regional Hydrogen Hubs, Awards $7B to Kickstart National Hydrogen Network”. |
The DOE suggests the awards conform to federal guidance for what constitutes “clean hydrogen.” Clean hydrogen, it said, “refers to hydrogen produced through electrolysis—separating liquid water into hydrogen—using renewable or low-carbon emissions energy sources, such as wind, solar or nuclear. Clean hydrogen can also refer to hydrogen produced using steam methane reforming with carbon capture and permanent storage (CCS) technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
ARCHES Gets $30M for California Hydrogen Hub
On July 17, the OCED awarded the California Hydrogen Hub—led by the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES)—$30 million out of the total project federal cost share of up to $1.2 billion to begin Phase 1 of the project plan.
ARCHES’ project—estimated at about $186 million—envisions multiple hydrogen production facilities at 10 sites throughout California (with most in the Central Valley) to produce “hundreds of metric tons per day (MTPD)” through renewables and biogenic sources. ARCHES is still determining final siting for project locations across California, OCED said.
End-users will include power producers. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will look to transition its existing 778-MW Scattergood plant in Los Angeles—currently comprised of six gas-fired combustion generators—to a rapid-response combined cycle system that will be capable of operating a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen. The 346-MW “Scattergood Generating Station 1 and 2 Green Hydrogen-Ready Modernization Project,” identified as an integral component of LADWP’s Draft 2022 Strategic Long-Term Resources Plan (SLTRP), is envisioned to be fully operational by the end of 2029. A vital part of the project envisions deploying an air-cooled condenser to comply with California’s once-through cooling policy.
Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) is, meanwhile, looking to transition its 2012-opened (and later upgraded) 300-MW Lodi Energy Center (LEC) to hydrogen power. The project uses Siemens Energy SGT6-5000F turbines, which can already burn up to 45% hydrogen. NCPA is now also developing the Lodi Hydrogen Center. The project, anticipated to be completed by summer 2027, will utilize recycled wastewater from the nearby Lodi Wastewater Pollution Control Facility as feedstock and excess renewable energy to produce hydrogen on-site to power the LEC.
In addition to these projects, ARCHES anticipates developing and building “distributed fuel cells” that will be used “to support grid operations throughout the state and to provide resilience in key regions of the state, including on the Federally Recognized reservation of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians.”
Among other noteworthy projects is the hub’s development of the Scripps Marine Vessel, a “first-of-its-kind hydrogen-powered 140-foot, 50-person marine” research vessel, which is expected to use liquid hydrogen “to replace tens of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel per year.”
The ARCHES project will also comprise more than 60 hydrogen fueling stations, serving more than 5,000 Class 6-8 trucks and 1,000 fuel cell electric buses. Under the 18-month Phase 1 of the project, ARCHES plans to complete planning and development activities.
Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub Kicks Off Phase 1
On July 24, OCED separately awarded the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub—led by the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2)—$27.5 million out of a total federal cost share of up to $1 billion to begin Phase 1 of its plan. The 12 to 18-month Phase 1, which will involve “planning and development activities,” has an estimated total project amount of $125 million.
PNWH2’s project seeks to create a hydrogen “ecosystem” by connecting eight nodes across Washington, Oregon, and Montana. “The Hub plans to incorporate multiple projects in distinct Hub nodes (project groups) across the region and produce all of its hydrogen via electrolysis using clean, carbon-free energy, facilitating greater connectivity and expansion of a clean West Coast freight network that links to the California Hydrogen Hub,” OCED said.
“Once the entire award is complete, the Hub intends to deploy electrolysis—a hydrogen production process that splits hydrogen from water—at scale by producing at least 335 metric tons per day of clean hydrogen powered by at least 95% carbon-free energy feedstock and ultimately achieving 100% carbon-free energy feedstock by 2035.”
After PNWH2 wraps up Phase 1, it intends to begin Phase 2, which includes finalizing engineering designs and business development, site access, labor agreements, permitting, offtake agreements, and community engagement activities. Phase 3 will focus on implementation—installation, integration, and construction activities—and is anticipated to last approximately 2 to 4 years. Phase 4 will ramp up the H2Hub to full operations over an estimated 2 to 4 years, including data collection to analyze the H2Hub’s operations, performance, and financial viability.
At least four nodes are affiliated with power generation. In Centralia, Washington, Fortescue Future Industries, in partnership with First Mode, Puget Sound Energy, Amazon, and Centralia College, plans to site a 300-MW electrolyzer project on a 137-acre remediated coal mine adjacent to TransAlta’s Centralia coal power plant, which is slated for closure in 2025. “The proposed facility will produce green hydrogen at scale for use locally in the Pacific Northwest in heavy-duty transportation, grid reliability, maritime, industrial processes, and other hard-to-abate sectors,” the company has said. The project could begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2028.
In St. Regis, Montana, St. Regis Solar plans to implement hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis to develop a hydrogen refueling station for heavy-duty transportation along the I-90 corridor. Other “potential” end uses could include power for a data center, aviation (drones), and long-duration energy storage for peaking power intended throughout the region.
In Ferndale, Washington, ALA Renewable Energy with HTEC Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corp are looking to produce hydrogen for heavy-duty transportation, refineries, and power generation, featuring an electrolysis-based production plant, hydrogen liquefaction plant, and cryogenic storage tanks. Likewise, in Boardman, Oregon, MHI Hydrogen Infrastructure, Williams Field Services Group, and utility Portland General Electric (PGE) plan to develop an “electrolysis-based hydrogen production plant, hydrogen liquefaction plant, and liquid hydrogen cryogenic storage tanks producing clean hydrogen for end-uses, including peaking power, refinery, transit buses, port equipment, and up to 10 heavy-duty truck refueling stations.”
Other nodes in the hub will focus on supporting the hydrogen supply chain for heavy-duty transportation, producing hydrogen for green fertilizer, providing hydrogen for transportation and cement production, and supporting clean public transit with hydrogen refueling stations.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).