If you’re vying for billions in federal dollars, a predictable selection process with measurable criteria is probably what you’re hoping to see. And while there was much speculation about what projects would be ultimately picked for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) regional clean hydrogen hubs initiative, H2Hubs, the selections made October 13 included no curve balls and matched the agency’s previous guidance. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the selections and how they fit into the DOE’s stated criteria.
We’ve been following the discussions about hydrogen hubs since the DOE announced details around the hub initiative in a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) published in September 2022 that defined a hub as “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in close proximity.” The FOA set out the overall goals of the program: the creation of six to 10 regional hubs that would receive up to $7 billion in federal funding to help meet the Biden administration’s targets of producing 10 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of clean hydrogen by 2030, 20 MMtpa by 2040, and 50 MMtpa by 2050.
RBN Energy’s US CO₂ Infrastructure map brings together legacy Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) assets, as well as announced large-scale Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) projects, all in our signature concise, accurate, and intelligible style.
Money for the hydrogen hubs was included in 2021’s Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Projects interested in receiving those federal dollars had to first submit a concept paper about their proposal, which was due in November 2022. Of the 79 projects to submit a concept paper, 33 received formal encouragement from the DOE in late 2022 to submit a full application by April 7, 2023. Each paper’s assessment was based on evaluation criteria that included qualifications, experience and capabilities; expected contributions toward a national hydrogen network; plans to develop production, end-use, and connective facilities; and community benefits. The full list of encouraged projects wasn’t released, but we were able to identify all of them in September. (We’re also pursuing the list of projects that submitted a full application to the DOE. When we get it, we’ll discuss it in our weekly Hydrogen Billboard.)
News about the hydrogen hubs has been pretty quiet since summertime, with few hints about when the DOE might make its decision on the hubs or which ones stood the best chance of selection, aside from our own analysis about which projects appeared to be the strongest. (The same quiet can be said of rules around the new tax credit for clean hydrogen. More on that in a bit.) To our thinking, hub projects that could contribute to a national network and produce hydrogen on a commercial scale; incorporate upstream, midstream and downstream considerations; and embrace environmental justice initiatives were likely to have the best odds. The DOE made its hydrogen hub selections on October 13, picking seven proposals with a variety of strategies and located across the U.S. Let’s look at how those picks match up with two key elements of the DOE’s criteria: feedstock diversity and end-use diversity.
The DOE said in its guidance that at least one hub will use natural gas to make clean hydrogen, another will use renewable power, while another will use nuclear power. Natural gas is the centerpiece of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2; #2 and purple states in Figure 1 below), a collaborative involving more than 40 entities and which can leverage the region’s ample access to low-cost natural gas to produce clean hydrogen and permanently store most of the associated carbon emissions. The location of the hub and development of hydrogen pipelines, multiple hydrogen fueling stations, and permanent carbon dioxide (CO2) storage is designed to drive down the cost of hydrogen distribution and storage. (States included: Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia. DOE support: Up to $925 million. Prime contractor: Batelle.)
Figure 1. Locations of U.S. Hydrogen Hubs. Source: Department of Energy Note: Pennsylvania is shaded in purple and light blue because it is a part of two hub projects.
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
“The Contenders” was written by Ray Davies and appears as the first song on side one of The Kinks’ eighth studio album, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song features a memorable slide guitar hook from Dave Davies and great blues harp from Ray Davies. Personnel on the record were: Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, resonator guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, backing vocals), John Dalton (bass, backing vocals), Mick Avery (drums, percussion), and John Gosling (piano).
Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, was recorded between April and September 1970 at Morgan Studio in London with Ray Davies producing. Released in November 1970, the album went to #35 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The concept album offered a satirical look at the music industry. Hunter Thompson once said that “the music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” That pretty much sums up Ray Davies’s take on managers, song publishers, unions, the press, and life on the road reflected in the songs on the LP. Two singles, including the Top 10 hit, “Lola,” were released from the album.
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Twelve members have passed through the band, with Ray and Dave Davies being the only original members in the band during the Kinks’ entire 33-year run. They released 24 studio albums, six live albums, 32 compilation albums, 10 EPs and 78 singles. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the UK Music Hall of Fame. The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and officially broke up in 1997 due to creative tensions between Ray and Dave Davies. Both brothers have gone on to successful solo careers recording and touring.
