Three States team up for future of Hydrogen Production
STILLWATER, OK (PAR)- Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas compete for their future as a major energy producer in the transition from oil and gas to hydrogen.
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Oklahoma with these two other states have announced they are going to collaborate and create a regional hub for their hydrogen for fuel and manufacturing. The US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that passed late last year will allocate funds from the oil and gas industry for four regional hubs to be placed all over the country. It is incentivized that multiple states collaborate due to the cap of one regional hub for the states, there will still need to be 3 other hubs across the U.S. that other states will compete for.
Carbon removal technology worth $10 billion dollars will be up for grabs and states will be able to compete for funding.
“The state of Louisiana, as well as our partner states in this effort, have a long history of producing and transporting fuels and feedstocks in liquid and gas forms, as well as significant population of industrial end users with potential to make use of hydrogen as fuel or as part of manufacturing processes,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a story posted to upstreamonline.com.
An additional $2.5 billion will be used for studying testing for the Department of Energy (DoE). This funding will also be used for finding the feasibility of maintaining the whole organization.
“In Arkansas, we have a growing and diverse energy portfolio and natural resources vital to any successful regional hub. We are the proud home of prominent partners and companies critical to US commerce with a strong history of environmental leadership and track records of reducing emissions," Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said according to upstreamonline.com.
Woodside Energy within Ardmore, Oklahoma, by collaborating with LanzaTech and ReCarbon to use their technology to turn greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into low-carbon energy. California-based and LanzaTech and Illinois-based ReCarbon in Illinois have been able to continue their research within a facility in a lab in Perth, Australia where Woodside is based.
Woodside has been bolstering its ranks with these companies aiding in their research. The large-scale project has received an incentive to continue to fight for a place to have one of these hydrogen hubs within these states.
The facility in Oklahoma will cost $700 million from Woodsides investment.
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“Pound for pound, hydrogen fuel cells contain three times the energy of gasoline, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Were hydrogen fuel widely produced, it would cost the equivalent of $2 per gallon, according to U.S. News & World Report. This is well below the average price of gasoline in the United States as of 2010. High efficiency--current models can get about 70 miles per gallon--and low emissions further enhance the value of hydrogen-fueled cars,” according to itstillruns.com.
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Four other states have joined forces to get the same funding called the Western Inter-State Hydrogen Hub. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming make up the four-state-team as they will make a joint effort to get the same funding from the act.
New Mexico, the most recent state to join the quartet of states, has had backlash from environmental groups over concerns of the industry coming to their state.
GlobalData released a study showing will be able to reduce the reliance in fossil fuels by turning to “green” hydrogen, but in turn it admitted the energy costs will be incredibly high. Only after advancements of production, transmission, retail and distribution will this issue decline.
Jorge Aguilar with Food and Water Watch said, “There is nothing clean about a fuel whose production can increase carbon emissions and pollution in disadvantaged communities, and that is why the governor’s efforts to pass a hydrogen hub bill in the legislature have failed,” according to currentargus.com