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Gov. Wolf Announces Aggressive Push to Secure Clean Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania

By May 16, 2022 4   min read  (666 words)

May 16, 2022 |

Fuel Cells Works, Gov. Wolf Announces Aggressive Push to Secure Clean Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania

Gov. Wolf’s industrial decarbonization efforts announced with broad bipartisan industry and stakeholder support

Governor Tom Wolf today announced that Pennsylvania is working with energy, organized labor, and environmental stakeholders to support a path forward for industrial sector decarbonization with an emphasis on the deployment of clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies and to ensure that US Department of Energy invests in Pennsylvania for a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub funded under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The administration and stakeholders committed to work collaboratively to make Pennsylvania a leader in the development of clean hydrogen and competitive for energy related federal funding authorized under the BIL.

The Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs initiative is part of the Biden Administration’s effort to create good paying energy jobs by expanding the use of clean hydrogen in the industrial sector. Pursuing this opportunity will promote the creation of clean jobs in Pennsylvania, while supporting the Biden Administration’s commitment to significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“As governor of Pennsylvania, I have long prioritized energy policy that moves us towards a cleaner energy future, while also creating good paying energy sector jobs,” said Gov. Wolf. “As a national leader in energy and manufacturing with a strong workforce, Pennsylvania is primed for this opportunity to lead the transition to a new energy ecosystem in which fuels like hydrogen play a central role in both our economic success as well as achieving our decarbonization goals.”

Pennsylvania is well-known for its bounty of natural resources and is an East Coast leader for natural gas production. The commonwealth is also home to a world-class workforce fueled by top flight institutions of higher education. Governor Wolf has prioritized opportunities to strengthen Pennsylvania’s leading manufacturing industry to keep up with growing demands and technology. With its strong workforce and natural resources, Pennsylvania is well positioned to compete for siting of a regional hub that builds on existing energy infrastructure while modernizing our industrial and manufacturing base.

“My administration has been working closely with energy, labor and industrial stakeholders across all sectors to develop the public-private partnerships needed to address the challenges of industrial sector decarbonization and develop the necessary conditions for the commonwealth to be a leader in deploying clean hydrogen and carbon capture technologies,” added Gov. Wolf. “We will continue to build on this momentum over the next several months as we pursue these opportunities for major wins for the economy, for workers, and the environment.”

In addition, the governor and 24 industry, organized labor, and non-profit stakeholders signed onto a declaration signaling their commitment to take the steps necessary to create a regional ecosystem to achieve decarbonization, to transition to clean hydrogen, and to ensure the commonwealth is competitive in attracting investment and creating jobs in all parts of its economy.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $8 billion for at least four Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs to expand the use of clean hydrogen in the industrial sector. The BIL requires that at least two of the hubs be located in regions of the United States with the greatest natural gas resources, like Pennsylvania. In addition, Pennsylvania is well positioned in terms of many other Department of Energy priorities, including feedstock diversity, geographic diversity, training and employment, a high concentration of large industrial facilities with emissions, and an expansive multimodal infrastructure system. The Department of Energy anticipates that applications for funding will open later this summer.

Governor Wolf proposed initial funding in his 2022-23 budget proposal to support a strategic plan for industrial sector decarbonization through carbon capture, utilization and storage and advanced clean hydrogen technologies.

Over the next several months, the administration and public and private sector partners will continue to work collaboratively to identify the resources required to ensure Pennsylvania will be competitive, and to addressing any barriers that could hinder the commonwealth’s ability to pursue this once-in-a-generation opportunity for transformation of our energy economy.

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