The Team Pennsylvania Foundation-led Decarbonization Network of Appalachia (DNA) announced Friday that it had been encouraged by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to submit a full application for funding for its Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program.
The H2Hubs would apply for $7 billion in federal funding to establish six to 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the country. Funding would come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
“As an organization that’s committed to accelerating economic growth through public-private partnership, this is an opportunity that demands collaboration,” said Abby Smith, president and CEO of Team PA. “The DNA H2Hub represents a commitment by a broad-based coalition of partners to the economic and environmental future of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.”
H2Hubs is part of DNA’s vision for emissions reduction by deploying large-scale clean hydrogen, carbon capture, and sequestration projects in Appalachia. The hubs would further Appalachia’s role in energy production and manufacturing for the United States and would maintain the region as a center for steel, plastics, and refining operations.
Team PA leads the DNA H2Hubs project as the prime applicant for federal funding and would manage DNA’s implementation to ensure a distinctly separate function from the organization’s day-to-day operations. The group will partner with Equinor and Shell USA, who would oversee the technical and commercial aspects of the project. Additionally, the project would have an advisory board that would include state partners, stakeholders, and NGOs to provide additional leadership.
“The energy transition presents a generational opportunity for leadership in industrial decarbonization and low-carbon manufacturing,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. “The members of DNA are ready to develop a large, low-CO2 infrastructure network to provide a pathway to sustain and grow family-sustaining wage jobs while delivering industry-wide decarbonization.”
DNA H2Hubs would produce “blue” hydrogen from natural gas using commercial-scale technology to capture and sequester carbon dioxide generated as part of the process. The project would distribute the clean H2 to steel and chemical manufacturing facilities as a power source after establishing a large low-CO2 infrastructure network.
Stakeholders include Carnegie Mellon University, Long Ridge Energy, and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.