LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – While Nebraska officials were disappointed Friday that they were passed over for a multibillion-dollar “hydrogen hub” grant, they said the two-year application process strengthened regional alliances and positioned the state for other opportunities have.
And two Nebraska companies that benefited from federal funding — Hallam-based Monolith and Gothenburg-based Project Meadowlark — both said the rejection wouldn’t stop their expansion plans, even though the dollars could have accelerated or improved them.
“It’s unfortunate,” said state Sen. Bruce Bostelman, chairman of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, after it was revealed that a Nebraska-Iowa-Missouri partnership was not among the seven regional hubs chosen to share $7 billion. Dollars in Department of Energy funding.
“But it was time well spent,” the Brainard lawmaker said. “They learned a lot through the process.”
Ready to pursue other opportunities
Courtney Dentlinger is a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Public Power District, which spearheaded the three-state request called MCH2 (Mid-Continent Clean Hydrogen Hub).
It envisions further funding opportunities to strengthen the hydrogen and clean energy sectors in the region and expects newly formed alliances and information gained to support future efforts.
“The process of bringing all these different industry players together has been hugely beneficial,” Dentlinger said. “Being designated as a hub will not stop us from pursuing other incredible opportunities.”
Nebraska officials responded Friday to a White House announcement that the Biden administration will allocate $7 billion from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to build seven regional hydrogen power centers.
States typically joined with others to form a hub, so 16 states are represented among the winners: Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Minnesota, South Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Montana, California , Delaware, Texas, North Dakota and Illinois. A Houston-based hub could also affect Louisiana, an administration official said.
The hubs — each a collection of facilities that produce and process hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels — are expected to benefit the U.S. climate, economy and energy security.
Hydrogen fuel is key to the Biden administration’s goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050. According to a White House media statement, clean hydrogen is particularly important for the sectors that are most difficult to decarbonize, including heavy-duty transportation and chemical, steel and cement manufacturing.
“Promoting clean hydrogen is critical to achieving the President’s vision of a strong clean energy economy that strengthens energy security, strengthens domestic manufacturing, creates healthier communities, and creates new jobs and economic opportunities across the country,” it said in the statement.
The seven hubs are expected to reduce carbon emissions by 25 million tons annually, the equivalent of 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars, the White House said. The projects will contribute about a third of the government’s clean hydrogen target.
Support from governors and legislators
Gov. Jim Pillen’s office said in a statement Friday that it was “unfortunate that the federal government has not recognized the benefits of growing the hydrogen economy here in the Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri region.”
Pill spokeswoman Laura Strimple said: “Of course the hydrogen economy will come with or without federal funding. We look forward to supporting this innovative industry as it continues to grow in our state.”
Nebraska has been discussing becoming part of a regional hydrogen power hub since early 2022, which has also been touted as a way to create more jobs.
The governors of the three states were enthusiastic. Under Bostelman’s leadership, state lawmakers passed a bill establishing a task force to obtain the designation and later approved $500,000 in funding to further support and prepare the application.
At the time, Bostelman called Nebraska a “prime candidate” for hub development, in part because of the state’s central location, but also because of Monolith’s large-scale production of clean hydrogen and its expansion plan.
Several companies, state agencies and nonprofits were involved in the three-state MCH2 application, but the focus of the effort was five capital projects—including the Monolith and Meadowlark ventures—that aimed to produce and consume clean hydrogen. These regional projects would have benefited from federal funds, which also required local compensation.
Things are moving forward, although perhaps at a different pace
Dan Levy, a spokesman for Monolith, said the Hub funding may have accelerated his company’s expansion. But even without them, he said, the plan to expand Nebraska’s clean hydrogen and carbon black production campus is moving forward with the help of a separate $1.04 billion Department of Energy loan approved in late 2021 .
Once completed, the company said the expanded plant will create approximately 260 direct and 600 indirect “green energy” jobs and will be the largest carbon black production facility in the country.
Levy said, “Although we have not been assigned a hydrogen hub, the collaborative process of developing this application is invaluable and we want to continue working with key stakeholders on opportunities to build a clean hydrogen industry in the state.”
Joshua Westling of the Meadowlark Project said his group is moving forward with its plan to build a multimillion-dollar factory in Gothenburg that will use electricity instead of natural gas to produce “greener” fertilizer.
Meadowlark was touted in the MCH2 proposal as critical to the Corn Belt. It said the facility will be “the first local access source of clean fertilizer in Nebraska” – offering local farmers a better buy than dry fertilizer.
Westling, a Nebraska native, said he and his partners began planning the fertilizer project in 2017 and received additional funding commitments. The hub dollars could have made the vision “better and more compelling,” he said, but the construction wasn’t based on them.
Dentlinger said the MCH2 project may have been affected by “geographical location,” particularly the region’s smaller population compared to other areas.
She said all partners would meet in the near future to discuss next steps.
“We are all committed to making Nebraska and the region full participants in the hydrogen economy.”
Hub projects announced on Friday:
- According to an administration official, the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will power the region’s manufacturing sector. The project could utilize the abundant natural gas in the region while permanently and safely storing the resulting carbon emissions, the statement said.
- Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems in California to provide a blueprint for decarbonizing public transit, heavy-duty transportation and port operations – sources of air pollution that are among the hardest to decarbonize, according to the press release.
- The Houston-based HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub will “perhaps” expand to Louisiana, which will be its largest location in terms of the amount of “green hydrogen,” the cleanest form of hydrogen fuel, produced.
- Heartland Hydrogen Hub based in Minnesota with “significant” assets in North Dakota and South Dakota. According to an official, this hub will utilize wind resources in these states and help decarbonize the agricultural sector in the region, the release said.
- Mid-Atlantic clean hydrogen hub in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. This hub will utilize repurposed oil infrastructure, the press release states.
- Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen in Illinois, Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The hub will produce hydrogen in the region using nuclear power. Two other sites will use nuclear energy, with the Midwest site expected to be the largest user of nuclear energy, the official said. According to the press release, the hub will enable the decarbonization of steel and glass production, power generation, refining, heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuel.
- The Pacific NW Hydrogen Hub includes eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and parts of Montana. According to the press release, this hub will produce hydrogen exclusively from renewable energy sources.
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