The US Energy Department's $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program is finally starting to take shape, despite the disruptions caused by President Donald Trump's war in Iran. The program aimed to build a more resilient hydrogen supply for domestic industries, but it was left on life support after Trump pulled funding from the project last year. However, a trickle of activity continues to emerge in the area of green hydrogen produced from water, with New Mexico emerging as a key state in this effort.
The production of hydrogen is mainly dependent on natural gas and coal, which makes it an attractive alternative for industries looking to reduce their carbon footprint. As a transportation fuel, hydrogen has yet to gain mainstream acceptance in the US, but its use cases extend beyond transportation, including fertilizer production, refining, metallurgy, and food processing.
The Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program was funded through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which required space for natural gas with carbon capture. However, the main focus of the program was on green hydrogen from renewable resources, such as biomass and water electrolysis. This foundational idea aimed to leverage different sourcing, transportation, storage, and demand factors in various parts of the US to build more security and resiliency into the domestic hydrogen supply chain.
Despite Trump's efforts to claw back funding for green hydrogen projects, some stakeholders have stuck around to pick up the pieces. Plug Power, an electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturer, has been doing its business in Europe and recently secured a new contract for its 275 megawatt 'GenEco' electrolzyer for a project in Québec.
Plug Power's success highlights the global nature of this industry, which Trump seems to consistently underestimate. The company's electrolyzer will run on hydropower to produce hydrogen for green ammonia, which will then be processed into ammonium nitrate for the mining industry.
One green hydrogen project that managed to survive Trump's cuts is the Questa Hydrogen Project in New Mexico. The project received $231 million in funding through a US Department of Agriculture program called Empowering Rural America and is now under the wing of the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.
The Questa project is an example of how rural communities can benefit from green energy initiatives. The Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, one of 900 member-owned electric utilities in the country, aims to lift these communities out of poverty through electrification.
The Questa Hydrogen Project comes at a time when electric coops serve an outsized proportion of counties that fall into the persistent poverty rate. This project is a step towards creating more sustainable and resilient energy systems in these areas.
As the hydrogen industry continues to take shape, it will be interesting to see how this program unfolds and its impact on the US economy and environment.
