How Hydrogen Hubs Can Spearhead the Transition to Clean Energy
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In an effort to counteract global warming, the Biden administration is pushing back against the use of fossil fuels and moving towards a hydrogen economy as the energy solution for transportation, manufacturing and yes – electricity.
As such, the Dept. of Energy (DOE) is counting on hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) to help achieve clean energy goals. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized the DOE to invest $8 billion to develop regional hydrogen hubs to spur a clean hydrogen industry. This, coupled with recently passed hydrogen subsidies, shows that the U.S. is betting big on hydrogen.
What are Hydrogen Hubs?
The hubs are designed to create networks of hydrogen producers and consumers to stimulate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier that can deliver and store massive amounts of energy. So-called clean hydrogen is a critical component to achieving Biden’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
A hub could serve a single state, or it could serve multiple states (as an example, 7 states in the northeast recently applied for funding to develop a largescale hub). As of the time of this writing, the DOE has received 80 proposals for hubs in various locations.
However, hydrogen is not exactly a risk-free proposition. Simply put, it remains to be seen whether hydrogen will actually facilitate the transition to clean energy and slash emissions, and whether it can do so in an affordable way.
To maximize the odds of success, the DOE should ensure that hydrogen deployments first target sectors that may not have clean energy alternatives, prioritize green hydrogen, maximize transparency for all industry stakeholders, and place public health and equity considerations at the forefront of all decisions.
Most important of all, the DOE needs to tread carefully on the push for hydrogen deployment. The technology is not ready for prime time, and this uncertainty increases the overall risk profile of the effort. While hydrogen in general and hydrogen hubs in particular sound appealing in theory, in practice the answer may be different. I, for one, will be watching this closely.
