As part of an effort to help industries to decarbonise, the US Government has announced grants worth a total of $7 billion for seven regional hydrogen-production hubs.
The White House said the money would drive:
“…the development of the regional clean hydrogen hubs that will catalyse multistate hydrogen ecosystems that ultimately will expand and connect to form a national hydrogen economy. Up to $1 billion of the remaining funding will be used for demand-side support for the hubs to drive innovative end-uses of clean hydrogen.”
The grants will cover various ways to produce low-carbon hydrogen. In addition to making green hydrogen through electrolysis powered by renewably generated electricity, the hubs will also feature so-called blue hydrogen, which is made from natural gas while using carbon capture and storage (CCS) to minimise carbon emissions.
Pink hydrogen will also be in effect, which uses nuclear power to drive the electrolysis process. The inclusion of blue hydrogen will please ExxonMobil, the maker of the Mobil lubricant and coolant range, as it has invested heavily in the technology.
The seven hydrogen hubs include the green and pink hydrogen Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub, the California Hydrogen Hub, the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, which will be able to access affordable natural gas, the Midwest Hydrogen Hub, the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and the Heartland Hydrogen Hub.
Guidance is expected later in the year as to what subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act will be available to hydrogen producers, with these possibly involving tax credits of up to $3 for every produced kilogram of hydrogen.
