Houston-based group scores DOE development grant for regional Clean Hydrogen Hub

John R. Moses, Corpus Christi Caller Times
·3 min read

A group centered in Houston edged out a proposal from the Port of Corpus Christi and energy company Trans Permian for a series of projects linking Trans Permian’s resources with the Port’s enterprises and shipping network.

There were around 80 project proposals originally submitted, with fewer competitors invited to continue during a lengthy selection process that was started last year by the Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. Winners were officially named on Friday.

“The Port Corpus Christi team and Horizons Hub partners would like to offer our congratulations to the selected Hubs and would like to express our gratitude to the DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstration staff for the time and energy that they’ve dedicated to the H2Hubs application process, said Port of Corpus Christi Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer Jeff Pollack.

Two separate plans to develop a regional clean hydrogen hub in Texas merged into the unsuccessful Horizons Hub plan as the Port of Corpus Christi and Trans Permian announced Feb. 14 that they would join forces and compete against other proposals for federal grant money to spark a regional hub.

Backers of the merged plans said in February the proposal would have combined existing Trans Permian energy infrastructure with the port’s existing infrastructure in a “unified framework” that would have worked to help meet federal decarbonization goals and develop new clean energy sources and network, according to the Caller-Times archive.

A port official said the agency’s commitment to clean energy hasn’t wavered.

“Our team remains committed to bringing clean hydrogen production to scale in support of federal decarbonization objectives, and, as a designated ‘alternate’ under the Hubs program, we hope to have future opportunity to partner with DOE,” Pollack said via email.

The winner in Texas is the HyVelocity Hub, which at the time the proposal was submitted included GTI Energy, The Center for Houston’s Future, The University of Texas at Austin, Air Liquide and Chevron as founding members, according to Caller-Times archives.

“The Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub is part of President Biden’s transformative $7 billion H2Hub investment, which will kickstart a national network of clean hydrogen producers, consumers, and connective infrastructure and create tens of thousands of new, good-paying jobs,” DOE said in a news release Friday.

The grant program is part of a larger $8 billion hydrogen hub program funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The new Texas hub will receive up to $1.2 billion for an enterprise “centered in the Houston region, the traditional energy capital of the United States, and will stretch across the Texas coast,” the DOE release stated.

The University of Texas at Austin supports creation of the new Texas hub.

The university "has a long history of collaborating with industry to address the world’s most pressing energy challenges, and this new Hydrogen Hub will enable a strong partnership to have a big impact on both Texas and society,” said President Jay Hartzell in a news release. “This impact will materialize through accelerated innovation, greater energy security, improved efficiency and profitability of the energy industry, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, greater access to energy, and a stronger workforce. Texas will lead the emerging global hydrogen economy, much as it has done across the entire spectrum of energy, and UT will contribute our talent, research and expertise to the effort.”

Other grant recipients are:

  • Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Federal Cost Share: up to $925 million.

  • California Hydrogen Hub, Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES). Federal Cost Share: up to $1.2 billion.

  • Heartland Hydrogen Hub (HH2H), Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Federal Cost Share: up to $925 million.

  • Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2), Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Federal Cost Share: up to $750 million.

  • Midwest Hydrogen Hub, Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2), Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Federal Cost Share: up to $1 billion.

  • Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, PNW H2, Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Federal Cost Share: up to $1 billion.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Houston-based group wins DOE development grant for hydrogen fuel hub