Washington DC, United States: The portions of US$ 7 billion will be received by Amazon.com Inc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. The amount will be from the US funding, which will be utilized to make the nation one of the prominent leaders in the controversial fuel.
The announcement was officially made by the US President – Joe Biden and Energy Secretary – Jennifer Granholm. During an event at the Port of Philadelphia, the leaders announced, in total, seven (7) projects that will benefit from the government. The selected projects have been stretched from Pennsylvania to California.
According to the administration, the hydrogen generated from the hubs will be used by the port to fuel trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles.
On Friday, the investment was praised by the President, who called it a boon for the economy. He underscored that the projects would bring “good-paying jobs” for the union workers. Biden also anticipated that this initiative would assist the nation in addressing climate change.
“I made it a goal for our country to get to net-zero emissions from pollutants by 2050. By the way, it’s the only existential threat to humanity; if we don’t stay below these numbers, the whole world is changing,” Biden stated, according to Bloomberg.
He further added, “Clean hydrogen is going to help us meet this goal. When it comes to charging our cars or powering our homes, all we need is clean electricity.”
President Biden’s net-zero goal:
The Biden administration has been especially focusing on the hydrogen and the hubs to accomplish its net-zero goal.
According to the statistics shared by the Energy Department via a report, the anticipated data could increase the figure up to 10 million metric tons by the year 2030. As per Bloomberg, the President said, “Hydrogen — you can power industries like the production of steel and aluminum,” adding, “That lets us get to this place without putting more carbon in the atmosphere.”
The winners of the plan:
The Pennsylvania Hub:
The announcement was made by the government at the Pennsylvania hub. Accordingly, it will receive around US$ 750 million in funding. According to the official statement by the White House, this hub will use the existing oil infrastructure for the manufacturing of hydrogen with the help of renewable energy.
The project partners for the same are Refiner PBF Energy Inc. and Air Liquide SA.
California-based project:
The California-based project will be producing hydrogen from renewable energy and biomass. The major aim of the project will be to decarbonize public transportation, heavy-duty trucking and port operations.
The project has received around US$ 1.2 billion. The partners of the project are Amazon and Air Products.
– Another hydrogen hub, which will span different parts of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, is backed by Senator Joe Manchin. As per the official statement by the White House, the project will focus on the production of hydrogen using natural gas with carbon capture.
The project will receive US$ 925 million. It is being partnered with natural gas producer EQT Corp.
Gulf Coast Hydrogen hub
Centered in Houston, the project will be partially powered by nuclear energy and will be used to provide hydrogen to use in steel and glass production. This hub has been proposed by collective efforts of Midwest states.
It was awarded US$ 1.2 million and is backed by Exelon Corp. and reactor operator Constellation Energy Corp.
The hydrogen hub awards:
The awards were funded back in the year 2021 under bipartisan infrastructure law. After receiving around 79 proposals, the US Energy Department urged around 33 projects to submit the full application.
Emphasizing the stimulate demand for hydrogen, the Biden administration has underscored plans to award US$ 1 billion to provide “market certainty and ensure demand,” reported Bloomberg.
Accordingly, Ben Jealous, the Sierra Club’s executive director, said, “With this first major step toward creating a hydrogen industry, the Biden administration must move with caution as it engages with communities to ensure hydrogen can be a part of our clean energy future,” as per Bloomberg.
“The fossil fuel industry is working to continue our nation’s reliance on fossil fuels by any means necessary — and hydrogen offers yet another possible inroad for Big Oil and Gas to lock in polluting and non-economic uses of gas for decades to come,” Jealous said.