Hydrogen Hub Will Keep Funding, Move Ahead

The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub project will move forward after more than a year of uncertainty.

The ARCH2 project was one of seven hydrogen hubs selected to receive $7 billion in funding during the Biden administration. However, all the projects had been under review by the federal Department of Energy under the incoming Trump administration, leading to widespread speculation that the funding would be terminated.

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick issued a recent statement announcing that the DOE will preserve $5 billion in funding for five of the hubs, including ARCH2 and the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2). Both projects have Pennsylvania ties. Two hubs in Western states were notified last year that their funding was being terminated.

“We are absolutely funding these in phases and will be working with those various contracting groups to see their progress and is it continuing on a pathway to get to a good result,” U.S. Secretary of Chris Wright said at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

Latitude Media reported that the DOE sent Congress a list of some 2,000 grant awards it intends to retain or modify, which included the hubs. However, there were no details of which projects are modified, or how much of the original $925 million award the ARCH2 project will receive. Its leaders had signed an agreement in late 2024 to unlock $30 million in funding for the planning phase.

ARCH2 has its headquarters in Morgantown, W.Va., but includes partners in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including Canonsburg-based EQT, and plans to focus on production and use of so-called “blue hydrogen” from natural gas. As currently proposed, it will include 12 proposed projects that will produce hydrogen for a range of end uses including residential fuel cells, materials handling equipment, and industrial uses.

Hydrogen is seen as a clean energy source that can help to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors and long-distance transportation and help the U.S. meet its climate goals. However, blue hydrogen must be paired with carbon capture and sequestration technology to be a clean energy source.