PNW may become 'hydrogen hub'

SEATTLE — The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association — a coalition of companies, local and tribal governments, labor unions and environmental organizations — has asked the U.S. Department of Energy to consider the possibility of funding a hydrogen hub in the Pacific Northwest.

The request is being made as part of the Energy Department’s $8 billion program to promote the use of hydrogen as a fuel under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021, according to a press release from the Washington State Department of Commerce.

“We aim to lead. The Pacific Northwest unquestionably occupies a prime position for developing and deploying a green hydrogen hub capable of tackling the biggest challenges — decarbonized industrial sectors of our economy such as heavy transportation, aviation, steel and more,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in the press release.

The hub would focus on the production and distribution of molecular hydrogen — two hydrogen atoms bonded together — and all of the technology and infrastructure needed to use hydrogen as a fuel in transportation, agriculture and power generation, the press release said. Molecular hydrogen when it is oxidized — burned with oxygen — produces water vapor.

According to the press release, the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association is accepting requests for information from new hydrogen fuel-related projects that wish to be part of the state’s proposed hydrogen hub through Tuesday, Nov. 15. For more information of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, visit pnwh2.com.