West Virginia is a top contender for a huge project to showcase the use of hydrogen in manufacturing, according to economic development officials and congressional leaders.
The inaugural organizational meeting of the West Virginia Hydrogen Hub Working Group was conducted on Friday. The working committee was launched last week by Gov. Jim Justice and three members of the state’s congressional delegation. Senators Joe Manchin, Shelley Moore Capito, and 1st District Congressman David McKinley are among the members of the working group, as are the three congressional leaders who voted in support of the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Manchin added, “We are all in accord on this.” “It’s something West Virginians can do to assist our country as it transitions… We have a duty to continue to be creative and imaginative, as well as to use technological research and development.”
“We have a fantastic working group… In a phone call on Friday afternoon, Capito stated, “I just think we understand energy.” “We can put together a working group with representatives from a variety of interests.” Apart from having the natural resources and some of the geologic formations that may really assist a project like this, we have a free flow of knowledge among us that I think is incredibly robust.”
“Further diversification of America’s energy sources has pushed this to the forefront,” McKinley said after the meeting on Friday. “The development of hydrogen has been on everyone’s minds for a long time, but the federal government needs to drive it forward.”
The working group will devise a strategy to present to the US Department of Energy in order to bring one of at least four potential hydrogen hub projects to West Virginia. Each hub must show the generation of clean hydrogen as well as the consumption of clean hydrogen.
“I’m optimistic about West Virginia’s chances… We’re in the heart of Appalachia, which is where one of these centers will be built, so that’s a plus,” Capito added. “Natural gas is abundant in our country. In this state, we are strongly pro-energy. Hydrogen has the potential to become substantially cleaner, but it’s a terrific source for a variety of applications, including the power grid, automobiles, and chemicals – end users in small industries.”
“I’ve always maintained you can innovate your way to a cleaner climate, but not the other way around,” Manchin added. “If people think they can do rid of fossil fuels and coal, natural gas, oil, and anything else they don’t like and still be purists, the rest of the world will not follow us.”
The hard infrastructure bill includes $9.5 billion for the government project. The scheme is divided into three parts: an $8 billion Regional Hydrogen Hub, a $1 billion Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis project, and a $500 million Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling project.
“The infrastructure bill was the root of this,” said McKinley, who was one of 13 Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted in favor of it. “The infrastructure law provides the necessary financial resources and explains why the four centers are necessary. One of them is to live in Appalachia, where the most Appalachia gas is produced. That is, I suppose, a code name for West Virginia.
NOW IS THE TIME TO HYDRATE
Hydrogen, according to the Department of Energy, is a clean fuel that may be used to decarbonize manufacturing operations like steel and metals production, as well as heavy transportation. Hydrogen may also be utilized to store energy for later use in a long-term fuel cell.
In a statement, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “Clean hydrogen is critical to cleaning up American manufacturing and slashing emissions from carbon-intensive materials like steel and cement while creating good-paying jobs for American workers.” “We’re looking for input from the American public on how to make this clean, inexpensive energy source a reality for the US.”
Natural gas (gray hydrogen), which accounts for more than three-quarters of worldwide hydrogen production, may be produced from current fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is still released into the atmosphere through the gray hydrogen process. Brown hydrogen is produced from coal and emits greenhouse gases.
The blue hydrogen method, on the other hand, uses carbon capture and sequestration to inject carbon dioxide underground. Clean energy sources, such as wind, may also be utilized to extract hydrogen by water electrolysis (green hydrogen). Pink hydrogen is created with the use of nuclear energy and electrolysis.
“If we can show how to accomplish what we’re doing today in a cleaner way with carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, that’s the one thing that can clean up the climate more than anything else in the world,” Manchin added.
While hydrogen has a lot of potentials, it’s also incredibly costly. Fuel expenses, such as natural gas, account for 45 percent to 75 percent of gray hydrogen generation costs, according to the IEA. Clean hydrogen can cost anywhere from $3 per kilogram to $6.55 per kilogram, according to SPG Global. The federal hydrogen demonstration projects aim to reduce the cost of the process.
EXCELLENT LOCATION
West Virginia, according to Mike Graney, executive director of the state Department of Economic Development, would be an ideal location for a regional hydrogen center.
“A number of interested parties have shown an interest in constructing a hydrogen hub in West Virginia,” Graney added. “We believe West Virginia is in a perfect location for a hydrogen center.” We have a lot of natural gas and a lot of coal, both of which may be used as feedstock. We feel we are in close proximity to a number of possible off-takers.”
Nucor, a steel company situated in North Carolina, is one of the possible advantages of a regional hydrogen hub. Last month, the business revealed that it will build a steel plant in Mason County. Nucor manufactures steel using electric arc furnaces and has established ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.
The location is crucial. Any site for a regional hydrogen hub would need ready access to natural gas supplies, with the ability to transition to renewable energy sources; salt, limestone, and sandstone formations for carbon sequestration or hydrogen storage; and coal and natural gas plants that can be retrofitted for hydrogen production or use.
Other factors to consider are local hydrogen end-users, such as the steel, cement, and chemical industries, as well as the usage of hydrogen for power generation or backup power. It’s also necessary to have access to natural gas infrastructure and rail/water rights of way for transportation.
According to Graney, there might be as many as six feasible sites for a regional hydrogen center in West Virginia. According to a map created by the Department of Energy, the Northern Panhandle is the only site near West Virginia that is either producing clean hydrogen or has the infrastructure in place. The Long Ridge Energy Terminal near Hannibal, Ohio, is one such example.
“Because we’re near a number of important pipelines that might possibly carry hydrogen and we’re not far from a storage facility,” Graney said, “We feel that it makes a lot of sense to put a plant here in West Virginia.” “As we aim to advance a new kind of energy development, we continue to adopt an all-of-the-above strategy in reference to energy generation in our state, so this fits in perfectly without a doubt.”
ENERGY WEAPONIZATION
The hydrogen hub initiative comes at a time when energy is becoming more important in the global marketplace. On Thursday, Russia, a key producer, and supplier of natural gas across the world, started an invasion of Ukraine. Coal, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas are used in several European nations.
“What Russia has done in Ukraine has emphasized a portion of the necessity of this summit,” McKinley added. “They’ve turned the energy industry into a weapon.” We can deal with it both in the long and near term.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Capito, should serve as a wake-up call for the US to wean itself off foreign fossil fuels and become really energy independent. The establishment of hydrogen hubs is a step in the right direction.
“If there is an obvious example of why energy independence is in our best interests, it is what is happening in Ukraine and Europe,” Capito added.
“Putin has used electricity into a weapon,” Manchin added. “He is making use of his natural gas.” He’s using his coal and oil assets as a weapon to punish anyone who refuses to do what he wants. The United States of America must do everything possible to maintain energy independence so that we can feed our nation… as well as the rest of our friends and the rest of the globe so that they do not become trapped in that grip.”
