WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is moving forward with funding for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, a multi-billion-dollar project announced during the Biden administration, even though progress on the hub has stalled.
What You Need To Know
- The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub was selected to keep $925 million in funding, despite stalled progress
- Seven hydrogen hub projects across the country were selected in 2023 to receive up to $1.2 billion each to produce zero-emission hydrogen fuel
- Uncertainty surrounds the three largest projects in the Appalachian hub
Seven hydrogen hub projects across the country were selected in 2023 to receive up to $1.2 billion each to produce zero-emission hydrogen fuel.
Following a yearlong review of 2,200 projects by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Trump administration released a list of projects set to retain some or all of their funding. That list allocates $925 million to the Appalachian hydrogen hub, also known as ARCH2.
Funding for two of the original hubs—the California Hydrogen Hub (ARCHES) and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub (PNW H2)—was canceled.
“We did a rigorous business evaluation. Unfortunately, a lot the projects didn’t even have a business plan or a credible pathway to success,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified at a hearing before Congress on April 15.
Some energy industry experts questioned why funding for the other hubs was retained. Last year, the administration eliminated the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), which oversaw the hydrogen hub projects.
The DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation wrote in a statement,
“DOE is working with the ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub to modify the award as needed, satisfy the requirements of NEPA, and move forward with work in a timely manner.”
It’s also unclear why the administration would move forward on a project originally intended to “generate clean, dispatchable power, create a new form of energy storage and decarbonize heavy industry and transportation.”
“There’s the irony of the Trump administration pursuing it when it evidently has very little interest in decarbonization,” said Sean O’Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute. “But there was also an irony, frankly, of the Biden administration pursuing it.”
The Appalachian hub was never going to produce green hydrogen, which is made using renewable energy sources. Instead, it would have used natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shales to make so-called blue hydrogen.
In addition, hydrogen fuel remains several times more expensive than other energy sources, including green energies like solar and wind power.
“There are superior decarbonization strategies,” O’Leary said.
Despite the funding announcement, progress on the hub has stalled. Project developers have only spent $5.3 million out of the $30 million in federal funds released so far, according to government data.
Uncertainty surrounds the three largest projects in the Appalachian hub—run by developers CNX Resources, Fidelis New Energy, and EQT Corporation—which would have accounted for about 94% of the hub’s planned production capacity. CNX Resources pulled out of the hub, Fidelis New Energy recently asked regulators to suspend review of a permit for its hydrogen facility, and EQT Corporation is still evaluating the project.
Ohio-based nonprofit Battelle, which manages the project and originally predicted it would create 21,000 jobs, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Appalachian hub still needs to clear a formal environmental review, which the DOE is supposed to release this month. It’s unclear if the review will be released on time; however.
