Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, all in the United States, have formed bipartisan three-state cooperation to research, produce, and use clean hydrogen as a fuel and manufacturing feedstock.
By signing the agreement, the states aim to compete as a group for money under the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, which directs the US Department of Energy (DOE) to find and finance regional clean hydrogen centers.
The legislation says that such hubs should be chosen by DOE based on the mix of hydrogen-producing feedstocks available, available hydrogen customers, geographic locations, and possible employment implications, among other factors.
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Thomas Harris, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment Kenneth Wagner, and Arkansas Secretary of Energy and Environment Becky W. Keogh was selected by the governors of the partner states to serve as designees to the partnership. The designees will be the principal point of contact and authority for coordinating governmental, scientific, and commercial sector initiatives to promote hydrogen production and utilization.
These states are well-positioned to demonstrate the full hydrogen value chain and to address difficult-to-decarbonize sectors including industrial, manufacturing, and transportation. The partnership builds on existing assets such as an inland seaport system that runs from Oklahoma through Arkansas and down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, existing intermodal rail, existing pipeline infrastructure that runs from Oklahoma through Arkansas to the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the country’s most valuable interstate freight highways. More crucially, hydrogen is now available for demonstration, with new massive clean hydrogen production centers set to start up soon.
Hydrogen is now employed in a variety of production processes, and it is gaining popularity as a clean-burning fuel source that might cut carbon emissions from manufacturing, heavy industries, and long-haul shipping. Currently, a significant amount of hydrogen is generated in the partner states by separating methane into its hydrogen and carbon components. While this process still generates waste carbon, it may be made cleaner by collecting it and putting it into long-term subterranean storage zones. There has also been an increase in interest and investment in commercializing water electrolysis to release hydrogen.
In their all-of-the-above strategy to a diverse and sustainable energy portfolio, the three states have been focusing on hydrogen as an extra resource. In late 2021, Louisiana announced a hydrogen-from-natural-gas project with carbon capture and sequestration, while Oklahoma announced a huge electrolytic manufacturing hub.
The agreement also includes provisions for:
- Promoting investment in infrastructure for production and transportation of low-carbon hydrogen;
- Prioritizing direct capture of carbon for all phases of hydrogen development; and
- Working with industry, transportation networks, and ports to connect major facilities with high carbon footprints to hydrogen infrastructure for fuel blending and reduction of CO2 emissions Working to support hydrogen production to support all phases of the industry that can use hydrogen as a fuel source.
