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Gulf Coast project backed by Air Liquide, Chevron seeks DOE hydrogen hub funding from SNL Daily Gas Report Gulf Coast project backed by Air Liquide, Chevron seeks DOE hydrogen hub fundingByline: Siri Hedreen A group of organizations including L'Air Liquide SA and Chevron Corp. is pursuing funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a low-carbon hydrogen economy in Texas and southwest Louisiana. The project, called HyVelocity Hub, plans to leverage the U.S. Gulf Coast's energy infrastructure and workforce. Founding members announced plans Nov. 10 to apply for the federal government's hydrogen hub program, which has up to $8 billion available in grants. The DOE started soliciting applications in September for up to 10 regional hydrogen hubs, part of a Biden administration effort to spur a national economy for low-carbon hydrogen. The agency will award up to $7 billion in the first round of funding, authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021. Hydrogen is an industrial gas with potential uses in energy storage, electricity generation, transportation and heavy industry. The fuel emits only oxygen and water when combusted and can be used as a carbon-free substitute for natural gas. Hydrogen production is, however, carbon-intensive when produced cheaply. At least two dozen groups plan to apply for the funding. Many of those projects are spearheaded by state governments, including HALO hydrogen hub, led by Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. HyVelocity Hub is a mostly private initiative, including the University of Texas at Austin; GTI Energy, which has headquarters in Des Plaines, Ill.; and the Center for Houston's Future, an economic development organization. "Accelerating clean energy technologies is vital to addressing global climate challenges as well as local air quality, and Port Houston is excited to participate in advancing these efforts with the HyVelocity Hub," Rich Byrnes, Port Houston's chief infrastructure officer, said in a statement. "The Hub will benefit trucking and maritime sectors and our communities tremendously with cleaner transportation, lower emissions, new jobs and both social and environmental equity." According to a news release, the group will build on a road map published by the Center for Houston's Future to make the city "the epicenter of a global clean hydrogen hub." Already, the Gulf Coast is home to the majority of the nation's 1,600 miles of hydrogen pipeline. "The entire Gulf Coast region is ripe for this sort of development," Brett Perlman, CEO of the Center for Houston's Future, told S&P Global Commodity Insights in July. "While we're focused on Houston and Texas, ultimately, at the end of the day, we want this to grow into places along the Gulf Coast that mirror, if you will, where the infrastructure already exists." |
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