Biden, ND senators announce $925 million clean-energy funding package for EERC, others

Oct. 13—GRAND FORKS — North Dakota's senators and President Joe Biden on Friday announced a massive federal award intended to be used in a collaborative effort focused on clean-energy hydrogen hubs.

The funding totals $925 million, which is being awarded to the Energy & Environmental Research Center at UND for the Heartland H2 Hub, in partnership with Xcel Energy, Marathon Petroleum and TC Energy.

The funding was awarded as part of the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Overall, the funding for seven proposed regional hubs nationwide comes to $7 billion.

"Through the leadership of the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota, today's announcement further solidifies North Dakota as a national leader in the energy and agricultural economy of the future," said U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "By joining with leading strategic partners such as Marathon Petroleum, TC Energy, and Xcel Energy, the Heartland Hydrogen Hub stands to play an integral role in diversifying the upper Midwest's fertilizer supply and providing a reliable source of hydrogen for energy applications."

Press releases about the funding came from a number of sources Friday morning, including from the offices of Cramer and fellow North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven.

"This new venture, led by the EERC, will bring up to $5 billion in investment into our energy producers in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota," Hoeven said. "This includes a $2 billion project benefiting the Marathon renewable diesel facility, which not only supports energy production, but expands the market for our soybean producers. That's because we've tied in the ADM crush plant at Spiritwood, which provides feedstock to the Dickinson refinery, while also utilizing CCUS to provide low-carbon fuel for the West Coast."

Further, Hoeven said, "at the same time, the hydrogen produced will be used for urea and anhydrous ammonia, providing lower-cost fertilizers from a local source for our farmers instead of importing it from Malaysia. This project is about continuing to do all we can to further strengthen and diversify North Dakota's role as an ag and energy powerhouse for our nation."

According to the release from Hoeven's office, the EERC will use the award to partner with companies — including Marathon, TC Energy and Xcel Energy — to advance hydrogen projects. It also will allow the EERC to leverage private-sector investment to bring up to $5 billion in investment to the project region, and also use $500 million of the award at the Marathon renewable diesel facility in Dickinson for the implementation of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) as well as hydrogen and fertilizer production. Hoeven's office said Marathon and TC Energy will contribute $1.5 billion toward this effort, making this a $2 billion investment in the facility.

Late Friday morning, the Biden administration announced all seven clean hydrogen hubs, noting their locations. They include the Heartland Hydrogen Hub, in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota; the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania; the California Hydrogen Hub; the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub in Texas; the Midwest Hydrogen Hub in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan; and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub in Washington, Oregon and Montana.

According to the announcement from Biden's office, "collectively, the hubs aim to produce more than three million metric tons of clean hydrogen per year, thereby achieving nearly one-third of the 2030 U.S. clean hydrogen production goal."

The release noted that the seven hubs will eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from end uses each year. It's equivalent to the combined annual emissions of more than 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars.

"The nearly $50 billion investment is one of the largest investments in clean manufacturing and jobs in history," the release said.

The Reuters news service said Friday that the regional hubs are networks of hydrogen producers and consumers that will be linked with new and existing infrastructure.

Xcel Energy Chairman, President and CEO Bob Frenzel called the Heartland Hub a "game-changing initiative" in developing clean-energy technology.

"The strong partnership with our Upper Midwest states and other energy providers demonstrates our commitment to increasing economic impact while achieving carbon reduction goals for our customers," he said in a release from the company.

Xcel's announcement said "the Heartland Hydrogen Hub anticipates creating approximately 3,900 total direct jobs, which includes construction and operating jobs across all phases of the project."

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum applauded Friday's announcement.

"Clean hydrogen can play a major role in our all-of-the-above energy approach, and we're grateful to the Department of Energy for recognizing our states' expertise in agriculture and energy production that will make the Heartland Hydrogen Hub a world-class partnership," Burgum said. "North Dakota is already an energy and ag powerhouse, and we're excited to build on our reputation as states that feed and fuel the world with environmental stewardship and a focus on innovation over regulation to meet our nation's evolving energy needs."