House committee hearing examines hydrogen hub

The Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee recently held a hearing in Pittsburgh entitled Developing a Hydrogen Hub.

The purpose of the hearing was to examine the benefits and obstacles of developing a hydrogen hub in Pennsylvania. Leaders representing industry, labor, and environmental organizations testified.

“A hydrogen hub is a cluster of assets that incorporates a number of hydrogen-based energy services,” Michael Ducker, Mitsubishi Power’s senior vice president of hydrogen infrastructure, said. “These services, in conjunction with high-volume storage, match the supply and demand of a variety of surrounding industries. This region is an optimal place in the United States for the location of a hydrogen hub.”

Christopher J. Masciantonio, U.S. Steel director of government affairs and public policy, testified that the General Assembly needs to pass legislation and work with state agencies to support regional decarbonization and that Pennsylvania needs a statutory framework to allow for large-scale deployment of carbon management projects.

“U.S. Steel is intensifying efforts to become an industry leader in lower-carbon production methods,” Masciantonio said. “We have been progressing on our 2030 goal to reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 20 percent, and in April 2021, we announced an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”