The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has signed with over 60 clean hydrogen ecosystem partners to develop a clean hydrogen hub in North East US.
This includes Advent Technologies, which manufactures hydrogen fuel cells, General Electric, Air Liquide, Pratt & Whitney and the Connecticut Green Bank.
The hub involves a coalition of six States (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island), along with 20 hydrogen original equipment manufacturers, 14 private sector industry leaders, 12 utilities, seven non-profit organizations, two transportation companies and three State agencies will put together a proposal that will enable the Northeastern United States to become one of at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs through the federal Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program.
The core of the proposal will revolve around a few key actions including defining visions and plans for clean hydrogen centered innovation and investment, placing environmental issues at the forefront of the initiative, performing the research and analysis required to support the hydrogen hub and quantifying the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from this project.
The coalition will also focus on integrating renewables like, onshore and offshore wind, hydropower and solar PV, in addition to nuclear power, into the production of green hydrogen.
The Chairman and CEO of Advent Technologies, Dr. Vasilis Gregoriou, said that entering such a partnership “at a time of significant momentum for America’s transition to clean energy technologies” marks an exciting time for the company which believes that the adoption of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies will allow the world to reach its goals of decarbonization.
The $8 billion program, which falls under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE). This is seen as a major cornerstone for DOE’s strategy to achieve President Biden’s goals of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero emission by 2050 and is also backed by the US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm. She said that “hydrogen energy has the power to slash emissions from multiple carbon-intensive sectors and open a world of economic opportunity to clean energy businesses and workers across the country. “
Currently, the US produces about 10 million tons of hydrogen per year, which represents 11% of the global annual output. Even though most of it comes from natural gas through steam methane reforming, electrolysis powered by renewable energy from wind, solar or nuclear, is an emerging pathway thanks to the technological advancements achieved by companies like AquaHydrex and H2U Technologies, to name a few.
Hydrogen is in fact the weapon of choice for many notoriously difficult to decarbonize industries that are looking to transition to fossil free operations, not only in America, but all over the world. Heavy-duty transportation and steel manufacturing are among the biggest industries in line to consume vast amounts of green hydrogen.
The ever-growing demand is sure to propel forward the scaling process of worldwide production in what can safely be described as a virtuous cycle that will in turn support efforts to limit fossil fuel’s harmful effects on the climate.
This upward trend of green hydrogen hubs is reinforced by not only the $32 billion investment into the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which Rethink covered last week, but also the announcement made by the city of Shanghai about its major plan to become China’s clean hydrogen epicenter.
A great deal of policies unveiled by the local Chinese administration will stimulate the formation of a national hydrogen trading platform, a hydrogen energy port, a regional hydrogen pipeline network and a physical hydrogen trading hub. Additionally, the plans will also allow businesses in the hydrogen market to benefit from financial support, although figures are yet to be made public.
The city of Shanghai has also made it clear that it will encourage technological breakthroughs in electrolyzers, fuel cells and hydrogen storage solutions. Shanghai’s new policies fall in line with China’s national hydrogen outlook which includes the production of 100,000 to 200,000 tons of green hydrogen a year by 2025 which in its turn falls in line with the global demand for clean hydrogen which will keep on rising throughout the next 25 years.