The Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen (GLCH) coalition announced it received encouragement from the U.S. Department of Energy to go ahead with its planned submission and development of its full hydrogen hub application.
The GLCH proposed the development of low-carbon hydrogen using electrolysis at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio. The deal if struck would see hydrogen distribution spread across the Great Lakes region by road and pipeline.
The GLCH works to help the midwest transition its manufacturing, mobility, power generation and tech operators away from greenhouse gas to hydrogen.
Linde (NYSE: LIN), Energy Harbor, Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), GE Aerospace and the University of Toledo, lead this initiative in conjunction with the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council. They were among 79 organizations submitting papers to the DOE for development consideration. The Department of Energy selected the proposal as one of the 33 projects encouraged to proceed.
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Investment in hydrogen hub expected to be over USD$2 billion
The project rests on the foundation of the work done by the Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory. Also, clean hydrogen will be produced through solar energy projects already underway in the region.
The coalition is already working with interested parties in the states of Ohio and Michigan. Additionally, these include technology suppliers, consumers, state and regional academic institutions, national laboratories, and non-profit organizations to develop a clean energy hydrogen hub to serve Ohio, Michigan and portions of Pennsylvania and Indiana.
The total investment is anticipated to be over USD$2 billion with 50 per cent requested from the federal government.
Originally, the proposal addressed decarbonization in the steel, aviation and glass industries while working to push alternative energy transition in buses and other vehicles. Recent expansions include additional companies in the region interested in decarbonizing their products and practices.
GLCH also intends its investments to benefit the communities involved while advancing other issues. These issues include environmental justice, diversity, equity and inclusion as well as high value job creation.
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