Department of Energy bypasses Duke, Southeast proposal for ‘hydrogen hub’

Duke Energy said Friday it remains committed to hydrogen as a future energy source even though the U.S. Department of Energy didn’t pick its Southeastern regional hydrogen project as one of seven “hubs” to receive significant federal funding.

The Department of Energy picked seven hydrogen hubs to receive a total of $7 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, money the White House said in a press release will lead to another $40 billion in private investment.

“While it is disappointing that the Southeast Hydrogen Hub Coalition was not selected for Department of Energy (DOE) funding, we believe that hydrogen can play an important role in our clean energy transition. Duke Energy will continue to seek opportunities to partner with DOE, peer utilities, and other stakeholders to advance clean hydrogen in ways that will benefit our customers and our communities,” Jennifer Sharpe, a Duke Energy spokeswoman, said in a written statement.

Federal officials are trying to spur investment in hydrogen as a potential fuel source because it emits water and warm air when burned instead of greenhouse gases. The seven selected projects, which span the country from the Philadelphia area to California to the Gulf Coast, are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, an amount the White House said is about the same as 5.5 million gas-powered vehicles.

“With this historic investment, the Biden-Harris Administration is laying the foundation for a new, American-led industry that will propel the global clean energy transition while creating high quality jobs and delivering healthier communities in every pocket of the nation,” U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a written statement.

The Southeastern Hydrogen Hub included research and development company Battelle, as well as utilities like Duke, Dominion Energy, Louisville Gas & Electric Company, Kentucky utilities Company, Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The Department of Energy received 79 concept papers for hydrogen hubs and encouraged 33 of those, including the Southeast coalition, to submit formal applications.

In August, analyst Rystad Energy told Hydrogen Insight the Southeast proposal was one of the 10 most likely to receive Department of Energy funding. Six of the seven projects the Department of Energy ultimately chose to support were on Rystad’s list, with the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub that included Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania the lone omission.

Rystad said the Southeast proposal may have been attractive because of the potential economic impact, as well as the presence of several fertilizer facilities in the region that could be decarbonised using ammonia produced from hydrogen.

Public information about the proposal was scarce, with the utilities mainly saying it would have included “scalable, integrated projects at key locations” that could have been used to help members meet emissions reductions targets like the 70% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050 called for in North Carolina’s House Bill 951, which the legislature approved and Gov. Roy Cooper signed in 2021.

According to its Carolinas Resource Plan submitted earlier this year, Duke Energy sees the federal government moving toward hydrogen as a key lower-emission fuel source for dispatchable energy assets, or large power plants that can generate energy the moment it is needed rather than waiting for the sun to shine or wind to blow.

Duke remains committed to building new natural gas plants that are also capable of firing some hydrogen, Sharpe wrote. Those include planned turbines capable of burning a blend of hydrogen and natural gas at the Roxboro Plant in Person County and Marshall Steam Station in Catawba County.

The company is working on permitting a pilot right now that would see it generate power via solar energy, convert that to hydrogen via electrolyzers and then burn it in a retrofitted combustion turbine that was originally built for natural gas.

Duke intends to generate hydrogen for those power plants from carbon-free resources like nuclear or solar energy.

Over time, Duke is hoping that technology will improve to allow turbines to burn increasing amounts of hydrogen, ideally reaching 100% hydrogen by 2050, when state law says emissions from Duke’s power generation must reach net zero.

“Our resource plan is not contingent on a hydrogen hub,” Sharpe wrote.

This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and the 1Earth Fund, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.