What Will Happen To The Clean (Or Green) Hydrogen Hubs Now?

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The much-heralded $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program was launched under the US Department of Energy to great fanfare last year, with the promise of scaling up and diversifying the domestic hydrogen supply chain to include renewable resources. Promises, promises. The incoming administration may have other plans. The fossil energy parts of the program could survive and even thrive, but the green hydrogen projects may be treading on thin ice.

Clean Hydrogen, Green Hydrogen

When the Energy Department says “clean hydrogen,” they mean a supply chain that includes natural gas with carbon capture. The Hydrogen Hubs program is funded through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the law stipulates a carve-out for natural gas, so that explains that.

Much of the funding, though, is focused on projects that leverage renewable resources. In particular, the spotlight is on green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen gas pushed from water in electrolysis systems, with the electricity supplied by wind, solar, or other renewables.

Green hydrogen is more expensive than fossil-sourced hydrogen, but costs are coming down as the industry scales up and electrolysis technology improves. The widespread availability and falling cost of renewable energy is another key factor (see more hydrogen background here).

Green Hydrogen: Here’s What We’re Missing

It remains to be seen if the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program survives intact after January 20. If it does not, say goodbye to the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub. The hub includes parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey, with the latter two states contributing their offshore wind resources to water electrolysis. Also at risk is the California-centric Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, which includes a biomass angle as well as water electrolysis.

Meanwhile, the hub concept has taken off in other parts of the world, especially in Europe, where green hydrogen planning revolves around integrated networks that connect energy resources with hydrogen production, transportation, storage, and end users. France, for example, is working on a regional “Hydrogen Valley” initiative, and Estonia plans to become the world’s first nationwide hydrogen hub, leveraging its considerable renewable energy assets.

Another example is Germany, where the global energy firm Uniper is expanding its renewable energy profile from hydropower into solar and wind. Green hydrogen is also a part of the plan. On November 18, the company announced that it is going to build a 200-megawatt water electrolysis facility on the site of its former coal power plant in the northern Germany town of Wilhelmshaven, to be powered by local wind farms. A new import terminal for ammonia will be located nearby.

Uniper expects the import facility to feature in its green hydrogen plans, indicating that ammonia (NH3) will serve as an efficient medium for hydrogen transportation. The challenge is to extract the hydrogen efficiently, too, but Uniper does not anticipate that will be an obstacle.

“Together, the two projects could meet a significant quantity of Germany’s projected demand for green hydrogen. Both plants will be connected via pipelines to the German hydrogen backbone and to underground storage facilities in northern Germany,” Uniper explains.

“With the Green Wilhelmshaven projects, Uniper aims to transform Wilhelmshaven into a central hub for green hydrogen in Germany,” the company adds, indicating that its industrial customers are demanding zero-carbon hydrogen gas, including the chemical, steel, and marine and air transport industries.

As for cost, Uniper draws attention to the US startup Electric Hydrogen, which will contribute its next-generation proton exchange membrane electrolysis technology to the effort. Electric Hydrogen expects to keep the cost of its proprietary electrolyzers down through a standardized, 100-megawatt, soup-to-nuts business model. The company lists power conversion, gas processing, water treatment, and thermal management as part of the package.

Here Comes A 3-Gigawatt Monster Of A Green Hydrogen Project

Activity is also heating up in other parts of the world. That includes Canada, where EDF Group and the developer Abraxas Power Corp. have partnered on a 3-gigawatt green hydrogen and green ammonia project under the umbrella of EVREC (Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation). The partners expect to leverage onshore wind energy and energy storage to produce about 200,000 tons of green hydrogen and 1 million tons of green ammonia per year.

If you’re wondering what they’re going to do with all that stuff, that’s a good question. The facility is to be located on a logging brownfield in sparsely populated Central Newfoundland. However, a key feature of the project involves upgrading a nearby seaport, opening the door to the export market.

Interested off-takers already include Belgium, which has been working on a hydrogen hub plan of its own. The tiny nation sent a reciprocal trade delegation to Newfoundland and Labrador in September.

“The mission took place September 26-27, 2024, and included representation from the Belgian Hydrogen Council as well as hydrogen companies and service providers in the energy industry,” notes the Newfoundland and Labrador government in a recap of the trip.

“The goals of the delegation were to strengthen ties between the province and Belgium relating to hydrogen production and the export of hydrogen to Europe via Belgium’s ports, and to identify common ground for future collaboration in wind energy,” they added.

So, What Will Happen To The Green Hydrogen Hubs?

The Belgium delegation also included an update on a pre-certification system that will enable EVREC and other developers to begin shipping green hydrogen and ammonia to Belgium as soon as their production facilities are up and running.

With all this in mind, the incoming Trump administration may be in for a rude surprise if they are expecting Europe to import more fossil-sourced hydrogen from the US. The German state secretary and special envoy for international climate action also visited Canada in September, and she had a message for fossil energy stakeholders.

“All studies show that the market [for natural gas] is going to shrink,” Morgan told journalists at the German embassy in Ottawa. “Germany will be driving forward on renewables, and gas demand will decline.”

As for what will actually happen here in the US, the Biden administration is still in control. The Energy Department selected seven hubs for funding. Five of them have already been confirmed, including two hubs announced on November 20. One of those two is the HyVelocity Hub (also called the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub). HyVelocity aims to be the biggest hub in the nation, producing both green and fossil-sourced hydrogen. The green angle is not a surprise, considering that Texas is the leading renewable energy producer in the US. Large-scale water electrolysis projects are already cropping up in the state.

Funding was also confirmed for the Midwest Hydrogen Hub covering Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan. As with HyVelocity, both green and not-green hydrogen are part of the plan.

It’s possible that the fossil side of both projects will end up being dialed down, if the market for green hydrogen keeps expanding — and if the Trump administration decides not to interfere. If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread.

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Image: The US green hydrogen industry is poised for rapid growth with an assist from the new $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, if all goes according to plan (courtesy of US Department of Energy).