There’s been a lot written about the federal government’s plan to provide billions of dollars in financial support to create a limited number of regional hydrogen hubs but not a lot of insight about how those hub proposals are being crafted to meet the Department of Energy’s (DOE) selection criteria. The details and strategies behind those plans have been hard to come by because few of the initial concept papers were made public while others remain a mystery, even months after the first informal winnowing of candidates. One exception is the Leading in Gulf Coast Hydrogen Transition (LIGH2T) hub proposal being prepared by a consortium that includes a large group of states, some key commercial partners, several universities and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). In today’s RBN blog, we look at what we know about the LIGH2T proposal, which will submit a full application by the April 7 deadline, and how it addresses three key factors likely to play a role in the selection process.
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.
As we noted in Part 1 of this series, the U.S. has made clean hydrogen a priority, with the federal government’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) initiative intended to accelerate the process. The DOE opened up $7 billion in funding in September 2022 for the development of several hubs. Clean hydrogen can be produced in a few different ways. It can be made by running water through nuclear- or renewables-powered electrolyzers, yielding hydrogen and oxygen. Separately, low-carbon hydrogen can be produced by running natural gas through SMRs or ATRs — steam methane reformers and auto-thermal reformers, respectively — and capturing and sequestering most of the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting in low net lifetime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A clean hydrogen hub, then, is “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in close proximity.”
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.