The U.S. Department of Energy has picked the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association’s PNWH2 Hub as one of the seven regional clean hydrogen hubs designed to kickstart clean hydrogen production in the country, cut down on carbon dioxide emissions and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs.

Several projects are proposed as part of the PNWH2 Hub, including Atlas Agro’s $1 billion fertilizer plant in the North Horn Rapids Industrial Park in Richland. The plant would produce green fertilizer from air, water and renewable energy, and officials have estimated it would create up to 235 full-time jobs locally, plus hundreds more during construction and more than 1,000 indirect and induced jobs. 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland is lending its expertise across several fields of study to support the PNWH2 Hub.

PNNL’s Daniel Gaspar serves as a senior technical advisor to the PNWH2 consortium.

“It’s important to evaluate the carbon impact of hydrogen production from the moment it’s produced to the moment it’s used, or what’s called cradle-to-gate emissions,” said Gaspar, a PNNL chemist with expertise in clean hydrogen and sustainable fuels. “PNNL is helping the Pacific Northwest projects determine their life-cycle impacts, including a framework to measure other impacts besides greenhouse gas emissions.”

PNNL experts are also providing economic analyses and evaluations of hydrogen production, integration with the electrical grid, and other areas as the region builds out a clean hydrogen economy.

The Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program includes $7 billion to establish the seven hubs and is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The other hubs selected by the Department of Energy are in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Heartland, Gulf Coast, California and Appalachia.

Pacific Northwest leaders celebrated the inclusion of PNWH2 Hub.

“Washington state and our many partners in this effort got here today because we have the commitment to innovation, nation-leading climate policies and economic bona fides to build even more clean energy resources here in Washington,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in a statement.

“This hub will be another example that the transition to all renewable energy is not only saving our planet but contributing to robust economic growth. The projects in this hub will support thousands of new jobs in Washington and the Northwest, while slashing emissions in sectors such as heavy-duty transportation, maritime, agriculture, and industrial operations,” Inslee said.

PNWH2 Hub, which is estimated to create or support more than 10,000 good-paying jobs, will be eligible to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding in four phases over nine years, according to the state Department of Commerce. Final funding and scope negotiations will start in the fall and the first phase will kick off early next year.

Go to: pnwh2.com.