Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Home Topics Politics Climate Finance California first state to get federal funds for hydrogen energy hub to help replace fossil fuels
Climate FinanceElectricityEmissionsHydrogenIndustryNewsTransport

California first state to get federal funds for hydrogen energy hub to help replace fossil fuels

113
FILE - A 2021 Toyota Prius that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell sits on display at the Denver auto show on Sept. 17, 2021, at Elitch's Gardens in downtown Denver. California will be the first state to receive federal funds under a program to create regional networks, or "hubs," that produce hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity, officials announced Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
A 2021 Toyota Prius that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell sits on display at the Denver auto show on Sept. 17, 2021, at Elitch's Gardens in downtown Denver. — AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File
FILE - A hydrogen fuel cell bus is refueled at a fueling station, March 16, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. California will be the first state to receive federal funds under a program to create regional networks, or "hubs," that produce hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity, officials announced Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
A hydrogen fuel cell bus is refueled at a fueling station, March 16, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. — AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File

SACRAMENTO — California will be the first state to receive federal funds under a program to create regional networks, or “hubs,” that produce hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity, officials announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Energy said the California Hydrogen Hub will receive an initial $30 million to begin its planning and design phase. The state will eventually receive up to $1.2 billion for the project that is a key part of the Biden administration’s agenda to slow climate change.

The administration in October selected seven regional hubs for the $7 billion program that will kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel, with the goal of eventually replacing fossil fuels such as coal and oil with the colorless, odorless gas that already powers some cars and trains.

The hubs, which include projects in 16 states, will spur more than $40 billion in private investment and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, many of them union positions, President Joe Biden has said.

The president has called clean hydrogen essential to his vision of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 2050.

The projects will be based in California, Washington, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Illinois. All but the California and Texas hubs include projects in multiple states. Pennsylvania has projects in two separate hubs.

Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, said Wednesday’s announcement is monumental because the Energy Department got through a rigorous competitive process to be at the point now where there are contracts and it’s able to fund the hubs.

The money will fund a major infrastructure program and invest in the future of clean energy, he added.

“It’s the beginning of really showing what the hubs are going to be doing,” he said Wednesday. “They’re all unique. In the case of California, they’re undertaking projects for using hydrogen for the decarbonization of the hard-to-abate sectors in transportation, among other things. Transportation is a big portion of what they’re going to tackle.”

A hub is meant to be a network of companies that produce clean hydrogen and of the industries that use it — heavy transportation, for example — and infrastructure such as pipelines and refueling stations.

Hydrogen can be made in ways that yield little if any planet-warming greenhouse gases. The Energy Department says hydrogen, once produced, can generate power in a fuel cell, emitting only water vapor and warm air.

The Associated Press


Related Articles

Lilium burnt through huge sums while trying to develop its jet (AFP)

German flying taxi start-up’s rescue deal collapses

A German flying taxi start-up said on Friday it would halt operations...

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum speaks as he attends a signing ceremony with members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo

US energy council chief says power plants to produce 15% more electricity

By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Interior Secretary and co-chair of...

Cuba has inaugurated a new solar energy park in the capital Havana (AFP)

Cuba opens solar park hoping to stave off blackouts

Cuba on Friday unveiled a new solar energy park in the capital...

FILE PHOTO: Cranes unload imported iron ore from a cargo vessel at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Iron ore heads for weekly gain on brightening demand outlook, China stimulus hopes

By Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson BEIJING (Reuters) -Iron ore futures prices...

Login into your Account

Please login to like, dislike or bookmark this article.