The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association in Washington will submit a full application for funding to construct a regional clean hydrogen hub in the Pacific Northwest after its concept paper was approved by the U.S. Department of Energy.
A public-private partnership established in the spring of 2022 to apply for the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Hubs program, the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association is one of 33 concept papers approved to proceed to full application among 79 submitted to the Department of Energy last year, a news release from the Washington State Department of Commerce said.
“It is great to see DOE respond positively to the PNWH2 concept paper and officially encourage the completion of a full application,” Aaron Feaver, director of the Consortium for Hydrogen and Renewably Generated E-Fuels (CHARGE) and the Joint Center for Deployment and Research in Earth Abundant Materials (JCDREAM), said in the release.
The hydrogen association’s 20-page concept paper outlined a network of hydrogen suppliers and off-takers largely in western and eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, the release said. The paper also "outlined the potential for uses in transportation, industrial and agriculture sectors, as well as the rapidly expanding advanced zero-carbon aviation sector."
The Department of Energy will select six to 10 full applications for funding at approximately $1 billion per hub, the release said.
The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association’s Chair Lisa Brown, who is also director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, and Vice Chair Janine Benner, director of the Oregon Department of Energy, said in a joint statement that they were “grateful to receive encouragement from Department of Energy," according to the release.
“This is an important milestone in the process to create a dynamic hydrogen market and supply chain in the Pacific Northwest, and we are pleased to see that DOE valued the ideas submitted last month,” Brown and Benner said, according to the release. “We now turn our attention to the full application process and competing for the hub funding. The PNWH2 is leveraging vast amounts of green power in the Pacific Northwest, expanding our commitment to community engagement and environmental justice and deepening our partnerships with labor, Tribal nations and public and private sectors to bring this industry of the future and green jobs to the region.”
Feaver said there “isn’t a better place in the world to invest” the funds from the Hydrogen Hubs program, the release reported.
“The Pacific Northwest was well prepared for this opportunity with a commitment to low-carbon fuels and environmental stewardship that is second to none, the availability of cheap, green power and a long-standing commitment to environmental justice and community engagement all matching DOE specific requirements – It’s like we were built for this,” Feaver said in the release.
