Appalachian Hub Project Gets OK to Apply for Funding
CHARLESTON, W. Va.—The U.S. Department of Energy has encouraged the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2, to submit a full application for the regional clean hydrogen hub Funding Opportunity Announcement, the organization reports.
The funding opportunity program is a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
ARCH2 was formed through a partnership with the state of West Virginia, EQT Corp., the nation’s largest natural gas producer, Battelle and GTI Energy, and Allegheny Science & Technology, a West Virginia energy technology consulting firm.
Since the partnership was publicly announced, ARCH2 has added strategic partners that now include more than 120 private-sector industry leaders, utilities, universities, non-profits, transportation, and state agencies interested in building a hydrogen economy in northern Appalachia.
“We are pleased the ARCH2 team has been encouraged by the DOE to submit our full application,” says Battelle CEO Lou Von Thaer. “The team comprises world-class organizations committed to working collaboratively to build a hydrogen economy in northern Appalachia that will advance our country’s long-term energy strategy.”
ARCH 2 is concentrated in Appalachian counties across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. It would leverage diverse regional resources to build a sustainable clean hydrogen hub that can scale and integrate into a national clean hydrogen network. The region is considered for a clean hydrogen hub given its access to ample low-cost natural gas feedstock, end-user demand, workforce and technology capability, and carbon sequestration potential.
“There is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how natural gas can play a leading role in the world’s transition to lower carbon energy solutions,” says Toby Z. Rice, president and CEO of EQT Corp. “We believe the use of Appalachia’s extremely low emissions natural gas to create clean hydrogen can act as a strategic foundation for America’s transition toward decarbonization.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
