How Washington State Leaders and Tech Giants Are Embracing the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of Clean Energy – GeekWire

As the United States makes a major transition to clean energy, Washington state officials are hoping to stake a claim for hydrogen power as a leader.

The state is in the running to be designated as one of the nation’s hydrogen hubs, a federal designation that includes $1 billion in upgrades to grow the sector. And Amazon and Microsoft shared news of their commitment to clean hydrogen this summer.

Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly attractive climate solution given its versatility as a fuel source, earning it the nickname of the “Swiss Army Knife” of clean energy.

Washington can tick two important boxes in its bid for the so-called H2Hub: The state has the cleanest power grid in the country — a key consideration for producing climate-friendly hydrogen — and it’s home to companies and government agencies eager to use it. The fuel. That includes green aviation, shipping and maritime demand, agriculture, ports, retail and technology companies. Washington also has scientific expertise from universities and institutes.

“We’re very bullish on our chances at H2Hub,” said Brian Young, head of the clean technology sector at the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The US Department of Energy is managing an $8 billion deal. This fall, states and territories will submit concept papers outlining their communication plans. DOE is expected to select six to 10 regions for H2Hubs next spring. Some 22 contestants are in the race.

If Washington is selected, the center will include participation from Oregon, and possibly Idaho and Alaska, Young said.

“The hydrogen hubs program from DOE is a national non-profit organization,” said Emily Kent, director of Zero Carbon Fuels USA.

“It’s a down payment on low emissions in America,” she said. “This is an opportunity to start some in the regions where it makes the most sense.”

Venture capitalists are also entering the field. Pitchbook reports that the hydrogen sector has attracted $1.64 billion in investments globally. The recently passed inflation reduction legislation includes significant tax credits for hydrogen production.

Although the state has not been selected by the DOE, communities here are already planting flags as their own mini centers.

• Lewis County in southwest Washington is looking to adopt the moniker “Hydrogen Valley.” An Australian company is considering building a large hydrogen fueling facility in the county on a site adjacent to the soon-to-be-closed TransAlta coal plant. The county plans to build the state’s first hydrogen fuel cell.
• Last year, Douglas County broke ground on Washington’s first hydrogen fuel cell facility.
• The Port of Tacoma is working with fuel startup OCOchem to develop clean hydrogen generators and port coolers. The city is in talks with Par Pacific, the owner of U.S. Oil and Refining in Tacoma, about building a hydrogen infrastructure.
• The Tri-Cities are exploring hydrogen production in Southeast Washington, and are already joined by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Okochem and other startups in the field.
• The Port of Seattle is working with PNLL to study strategies for incorporating hydrogen fuel into its operations.

Local tech giants Amazon and Microsoft are also backing hydrogen efforts. Last week, Amazon announced a deal with Plug Power to start buying enough green hydrogen starting in 2025 to fuel 30,000 forklifts, or 800 heavy trucks. In July, Microsoft shared news that it had partnered with Plug Power to run data center computers off of hydrogen.

“Amazon is proud to be a pioneer in green hydrogen because of its ability to reduce carbon emissions from long-haul freight, steel manufacturing, aviation and ocean shipping,” said Cara Hurst, Amazon’s vice president of global sustainability. In the statement.

It helps to appreciate the excitement about hydrogen – and its limitations – to understand how it works as a fuel.

Hydrogen is an element found in countless different molecules, including water, ammonia, natural gas, and most organic compounds. But they cannot burn all these molecules efficiently.

“People say hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe,” said Kevin Schneider of the PNLL lab. “That doesn’t mean it’s the most abundant fuel in the universe.”

Pure or “green” hydrogen fuel is made by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using a process called electrolysis. Hydrogen can be injected into vehicles fueled by fuel cells, generators and other equipment. It produces water as the main emission. Hydrogen can be produced from sources such as methane using pyrolysis, but that fuel is usually not clean.

Hydrogen stores energy and creates energy. But first of all, it takes energy to make hydrogen. In order for the fuel to be climate-friendly, the electrolysis must be powered by renewable energy, such as solar, wind or hydroelectric dams.

Which brings us back to Washington. 80% of the state’s electricity is green, thanks in large part to its dams. This fact has attracted the attention of international companies looking for a hydrogen economy. Four years ago, they started making calls about opportunities in the region, Young said.

“We got a lot [hydrogen-related inquiries] to ignore and that really put it on our map,” he said. That’s when we started thinking and talking about it.

So the state built a coalition of interested parties through a group called CHARGE, or the Consortium for Hydrogen and Renewable E-Fuels. CHARGE became the anchor of the Hydrogen Innovation Cluster supported by the Department of Commerce. The goal is to promote the field — and quickly.

“The clock is running out,” said Aaron Feaver, executive director of CHARGE. “When we see opportunities where the technology seems ready, I see it as very important to try to deploy that and move it forward as quickly as possible.”

There are several Washington companies and institutions currently interested in producing and using hydrogen fuel.

Manufacturers include:

• OcokemRichland: Their technology combines hydrogen with carbon dioxide to form formic acid, a chemical that is easy to transport and can be used as hydrogen fuel.
• Modern electronicsSeattle: The startup uses pyrolysis to produce hydrogen fuel from various sources, cow manure and natural gas.
• PNNLRichland: Researchers are developing technologies for hydrogen production, including clean methane pyrolysis and a process that uses biowaste.
• STARS Technology CorporationRichland: Using PNEL technology, this startup produces hydrogen from natural gas and is working on a demonstration project with a Southern California gas company.
• Powerful pipelineRichland: An early stage company with PNNL connections will develop a hydrogen fuel production process.

Users include:

• First modeSeattle: A company that builds hydrogen fuel cell and battery-powered mega trucks, among other fuel cell vehicles.
• All US NavyBellingham: The shipbuilder recently built Sea Change, the first US Coast Guard-approved commercial hydrogen fuel cell-powered ship.
• PACCAR/Kenworth, Bellevue: The company is building fuel cell and electric commercial vehicles. It is partnering with the Port of Los Angeles to test the fuel cell cars.
• Zero AviaEverett: A California-based green aviation company is opening an R&D facility in Washington to test hydrogen-electric power plants that could be built in the state.
• Plug in the powerSpokane: This New York-based company has been building hydrogen fuel cells in the state since 2014 and has ties to Microsoft and Amazon.

While the sector is growing, barriers to widespread production and use of hydrogen remain.

Gasoline has struggled with a chicken-and-egg situation similar to that faced by the electric vehicle market. In the case of EVs, customers were hesitant to buy the vehicles due to the lack of charging options, but there were no chargers because there was no use for them. The same is true for hydrogen fuel and equipment.

Similar economic barriers exist. The price of EV batteries was initially very high, but as the technology improved, the price decreased. The expectation is that innovation in hydrogen production will reduce costs.

Hydrogen presents new safety challenges. Like petroleum fuel, hydrogen is flammable and there are concerns about transporting and storing it. There are also high costs involved in moving from production sites to consumption sites.

But there is momentum for a growing hydrogen economy, including government tax breaks, customer demand, venture capital and upcoming hubs. Thanks to Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing and others, the Pacific Northwest, a leader in technology and aerospace, has a big role to play.

“The region punches above its weight in terms of international influence,” Fever said. “So we hope to do the same thing in the hydrogen space.”