Connecticut joins $1 billion federal funding race for hydrogen projects

According to Gov. Ned Lamont, Connecticut will compete with six other northeastern states for more than $1 billion in federal money to establish a regional “centre” for clean hydrogen fuel.

The statement was made just before the Department of Energy’s deadline for receiving official bids for a portion of the $8 billion set aside to fund hydrogen project development under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which President Joe Biden signed in 2021. According to the Associated Press, the northeast is one of many state coalitions, or hubs, that are competing to unite support and money for hydrogen projects.

New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont are the other states involved in the Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub. For more than a dozen projects, the states are requesting $1.25 billion in federal funding together. The proposal’s entire price tag, including additional funds, is $3.62 billion.

Chemical element hydrogen can be utilised in specialised fuel cells to create electricity, with the sole byproduct being water. According to the Energy Department, hydrogen fuel is now used to power automobiles, heat houses, and generate energy.

Pure hydrogen is difficult to find on Earth even though it is the element that is present in the cosmos in the greatest amounts. The most typical way to make hydrogen involves turning water into steam using natural gas, which contributes to atmospheric carbon emissions.

Because of this, several environmentalists have expressed doubt about using hydrogen to address climate change and reduce conventional emissions.

According to Will Healey, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub will concentrate its efforts on alternative, cleaner ways to produce hydrogen fuel, such as water electrolysis that can be powered by solar and wind turbines.

A task committee to explore hydrogen energy was established by state lawmakers last year, and DEEP has indicated that it is receptive to hydrogen’s potential involvement in the state’s goal of decarbonizing its power grid by 2040. FuelCell Energy Inc., one of the biggest producers of hydrogen fuel cells worldwide, is based in Danbury.

According to a press statement from the office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the DOE anticipates announcing the successful bids for its regional hydrogen hub initiative this fall.