Biden to roll out $7 billion for hydrogen hubs, which are key for meeting climate goals

By Victor Reklaitis

The announcement about the funding could come Friday, when president visits the swing state of Pennsylvania

The Biden administration this week is expected to announce which regional projects will receive around $7 billion total in federal funding to build out hydrogen hubs, according to multiple published reports citing unnamed sources.

The production of hydrogen is viewed as important for meeting climate goals, and the funding for the hubs stems from 2021's bipartisan infrastructure law.

A program called Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs aims to establish six to 10 facilities as part of a plan to create networks of producers, consumers and connective infrastructure that will accelerate the use of hydrogen, according the Department of Energy.

Also read: Hydrogen, carbon capture and nuclear energy feature in most net-zero emissions plans

The announcement about the funding could come Friday, when President Joe Biden is slated to visit Philadelphia. During that trip to the biggest city in the swing state of Pennsylvania, the president plans to "discuss how his Bidenomics agenda is creating good-paying union jobs, investing in infrastructure, accelerating the transition to a clean energy ICLN future, and combatting the climate crisis," the White House said in a statement earlier this week.

The process for awarding the $7 billion in funding has given the Biden White House "unusual power to play kingmaker and reward allies" in states that could play a major role in the president's re-election bid, a Reuters report said.

Related: Here's how the Republican presidential candidates say they'll whip inflation

Contenders for the grants, according to a Bloomberg report, include a project tied to Shell PLC (NL:SHELL), Pennsylvania and other states; a separate project tied to Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) and Rochester, N.Y.; another one tied to Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) and California; and a West Virginia hub connected to natural-gas producer EQT Corp. (EQT).

-Victor Reklaitis

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10-12-23 1500ET

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