A Michigan-backed project to create hydrogen production facilities in the Midwest will receive up to $1 billion in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, state and federal officials announced Friday.
The Department of Energy will award up to $1 billion to the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, or MachH2, to develop supply chains in the region for the production, distribution and use of hydrogen in trucks and heavy duty vehicles. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office says the grant funding will enable the project to create 12,100 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.
MachH2 is a partnership between several public and private organizations and agencies in the Midwest to grow the region’s hydrogen production supply chain, according to its website. Among the collaborators listed on MachH2’s website are the Michigan Infrastructure Office, BP, Exxon Mobil, USG, the University of Michigan and Holtec International, a company that is currently overseeing the attempted recommissioning of the Palisades nuclear facility in southwest Michigan, among other organizations in the region.
Trucks and heavy duty vehicles which use hydrogen cells for fuel are beneficial for the environment in comparison to traditional diesel-fueled fleets, according to the Department of Energy. Replacing diesel with hydrogen fuel cells in the trucking sector could result in potentially emitting 1,300 fewer kilotons of carbon dioxide per year by 2035, according to Whitmer’s office.
MachH2 plans to build a hydrogen-based “Truck Stop of the Future” to serve traffic at the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit. The partnership is also guiding the construction of a production facility for hydrogen cells at the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, the governor’s office says.
“Our hub and the region bring an unparalleled supply of clean energy, significant regional hydrogen demand, heavy industry, and an ideal location at the crossroads of America – all of which was recognized by the DOE’s selection of MachH2,” MachH2 CEO Dorothy Davidson said in a statement. “Our hub will scale the production and delivery of abundant, reliable, and increasingly affordable clean hydrogen to support our national climate goals in the coming decade, all while creating jobs and lifting up underrepresented communities that have been overburdened by pollution.”
The grant funding awarded to MachH2 is part of $7 billion in grants distributed across the U.S. to “hydrogen hubs” by the federal government as it attempts to spur a transition to cleaner energy sources. The funds were made available in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
“The Midwest Hydrogen Hub presents an exciting opportunity for our region to advance our position as a national clean energy and technology leader, while bringing thousands of good-paying jobs to our communities,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in a press release. “The Hydrogen Hub has the potential to power a number of sectors that matter to the Heartland, from manufacturing to transportation and will help us make meaningful progress in our work toward a clean energy economy.”
Earlier this year, Norway-based Nel Hydrogen announced it would construct a $400 million plant in Michigan for the production of components used to produce renewable hydrogen.
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