Feb. 26 (UPI) — Four Western states are cooperating to build multiple hydrogen hubs to spur progress toward making the gas a clean fuel source for future vehicles, officials said.
The governors of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming made the announcement on Thursday, saying that they also intend to seek billions in new federal funding to make it happen.
All four states signed a memo of understanding to develop the Western Inter-State Hydrogen Hub and supporting facilities in each state.
The federal government is making $8 billion available from the bipartisan infrastructure package to develop hydrogen hubs.
“These states are uniquely situated to become a clean hydrogen hub given the presence of high-quality wind, solar, biomass, natural gas, and other energy resources,” the office of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement Thursday.
The Energy Department is expected to request hydrogen hub proposals sometime in May.
The four-state plan must show that the states can “successfully accelerate commercialization of, and demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage and the end-use of clean hydrogen.”
Last April, a scientific publication called for a 10-year plan for developing a hydrogen economy, laying out necessities related to infrastructure and benchmarks for economic viability.
The states’ hub is expected to drive economic development in each state and incorporate the “latest science, research, and technology for cost-effective generation, transportation, and use of clean hydrogen,” according to the memo of understanding.
“This coalition represents a shared vision for the future of hydrogen in the mountain west region,” Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said in a joint statement.
