The states of Washington and Oregon have submitted a joint bid to the U.S. Department of Energy to get a share of $8 billion that Congress set aside to launch “Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs” around the nation. But good luck trying to learn what exactly the bi-state bid entails, other than the safe presumption that at least one industrial hydrogen production facility would be subsidized.
Around the nation and around the globe, governments and investors are pouring big money into “green” hydrogen prospects as a tool to lighten the climate impact of hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as ocean shipping, airlines and steel and fertilizer manufacturing. Hydrogen has potential as a zero-carbon transportation fuel and could be a replacement for natural gas in industrial processes. The states and USDOE are holding the hydrogen hub applications close to…