J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO, JobsOhio, said his organization commissioned this study before the IIJA was passed and that JobsOhio is committed to growing the hydrogen economy in Ohio, especially for industrial use.
“The report clearly shows that hydrogen has the potential to fuel economic growth, innovation, and job creation in the state while significantly reducing carbon emissions,” SARTA CEO Kirt Conrad said. “The one key question left on the table: will state government and the private sector make the investment necessary to unleash that potential?”
“The study provides clear and convincing evidence that Ohio not only meets but exceeds the criteria established for the hubs in the IIJA,” Mr. Nauseef continued. “Ohio has feedstock and end-use diversity, one of the nation’s largest supplies of natural gas, and the geology to accommodate hydrogen storage and carbon sequestration. Ohio is also geographically positioned in an area where critical processing, storage, and distribution infrastructure will be developed.”
Andrew Thomas, Director of the Energy Policy Center at Cleveland State University and of the Midwest Hydrogen Center of Excellence (MHCoE), was one of the study’s authors. He noted that while projecting new markets can be speculative, the MHCoE used rates of growth for hydrogen consumption that have already been experienced in Ohio for the past decade for its forecast. “Based upon past growth, we project nearly 2 million metric tons of hydrogen per year will be consumed in Ohio by 2050 – without any federal or state constraints on carbon emissions. We will need an ‘all of the above” strategy for making hydrogen to meet this demand, including both reformation of natural gas and electrolysis of water from nuclear and renewable power.”
The Ohio Clean Hydrogen Hub Alliance, a coalition comprised of more than 100 companies, governmental entities, universities, and research institutions, is collaborating with similar entities in the neighboring states to foster the development of an application to the DOE for a regional hydrogen hub in the northern Appalachian region.
The research was led by Mark Henning and Andrew R. Thomas of the Midwest Hydrogen Center of Excellence and the Energy Policy Center at the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
