Southeast Hydrogen Hub gets approval to apply for DOE funding

The Southeast Hydrogen Hub is among the limited number of organizations encouraged by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to apply for $8 billion in funding for regional clean hydrogen hubs through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The hydrogen hub is a coalition of several major utilities, including Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, Southern Company, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as Battelle.

In November, the coalition submitted an initial concept paper outlining how the Southeast Hydrogen Hub will build on existing infrastructure utilizing technologies to advance the production, storage, transport, and delivery of hydrogen to transition the energy economy toward decarbonization.

The coalition’s vision is to develop scalable, integrated projects at key locations across the entire Southeast in support of carbon-reduction goals. They also want to encourage the broad-based development of a regional energy ecosystem that will allow members to deploy hydrogen as a decarbonization solution for customers and communities.

The coalition received the notification of encouragement to apply for funding from the DOE on Dec. 27.  Of the 79 concept papers the DOE received, 33 were encouraged to advance to the application stage. Formal proposals are due in April, with decisions expected in the fall.

Hydrogen is attractive as an energy resource because it has immediate potential to accelerate decarbonization in the Southeast and across all sectors of the U.S. economy – including transportation.

The Southeast Hydrogen Hub coalition expects its membership to grow as news of the opportunity spreads and as interest in hydrogen intensifies.