Establishing the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub will be a long-term effort, with our proposed projects coming online as soon as feasible following DOE’s multi-phase process that includes the government providing go/no-go decisions along the way. 

While hydrogen use is common, many of the infrastructure and connected systems to produce hydrogen from renewable sources and utilize clean hydrogen in our heavy transportation and other hard-to-reach industries do not exist yet. 

The national goal is to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050. So, this is a massive effort that will require industry and government to take an all-hands-on-deck approach.

• Phase 1 (Year 1) will encompass initial planning and analysis activities to ensure that the overall H2Hub concept is technologically and financially viable, building on existing engagement with local communities to include further input from Tribes and relevant partners and stakeholders.  
• Phase 2 (Up to 2 Years) includes finalizing engineering designs and business development, site access, labor agreements, permitting, offtake agreements and community engagement activities. 
• Phase 3 (Approximately 2 – 4 Years) will focus on the implementation – installation, integration and construction activities.
• Phase 4 (Approximately 2-4 Years) will ramp up the H2Hub to full operations, including data collection to analyze the H2Hub’s operations, performance and financial viability.  

We plan to use all the clean hydrogen produced by the PNWH2 Hub in the Pacific Northwest.  Strong greenhouse gas reduction and clean fuel policies mean that the Pacific Northwest will have a strong demand market for clean hydrogen.

The PNWH2 Hub will create a robust network of clean, renewable hydrogen suppliers and end-users focused on some of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors important to our region’s economy, such as hard-to-electrify heavy-duty transportation, port operations, agriculture and industrial operations.

At this time, the PNWH2 Hub has no aviation-related projects as part of our proposal, although offtake customers may use our clean hydrogen at airports or to make sustainable aviation fuel. Keep in mind that this is a 10- to 15-year effort. We anticipate there may be a lot of change and discovery throughout the life of this endeavor and we are excited to be part of the journey.

In 2022, we issued three Requests for Interest (RFIs) for organizations to submit projects for review and potential inclusion in the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. 

Our Project Selection Committee recommended projects to the board that best met the hub criteria provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, leveraged the region’s renewable resources and reflected the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association’s vision for strong collaboration with Tribal and local communities and strong environmental justice programs.

We have both public and private companies with proposed PNWH2 Hub projects.

DOE’s hydrogen hub initiative offers a rare opportunity to create public-private partnerships at a regional scale to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in carbon-intensive industries and bring high-paying clean energy careers here as part of a new hydrogen economy. 

Although we are eligible to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding over four DOE-defined development phases spanning nine years, with $20 million allocated for Phase 1, DOE’s Hydrogen Hub program requires each hub to provide at least 50% or more of the total project cost. The final funding will be determined during negotiations with the DOE and over 75% of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub cost-share funds are expected to be provided by our private sector partners.

Additionally, Washington state contributed $2 million in 2022 toward hub planning, and Washington and Oregon provided resources and staff support for the PNWH2 Hub. Also, Washington committed an additional $20 million in state funding in 2024, contingent upon award.

We expect to create or support jobs in multiple industries, including construction (pipefitting, steelwork, welding, carpentry, etc.), infrastructure maintenance and operations (engineers, chemists, field technicians, etc.), transportation (mechanics, operators, vehicle design/construction, etc.), and management (planners, accountants, business development, marketing, etc.). 

The PNWH2 Hub projects plan to hire locally to the greatest extent possible.  The PNWH2 Hub will be working with local colleges, universities, and K-12 school programs to develop and train the future hydrogen workforce, and develop programs to support workers displaced from the carbon economy.

We have committed to negotiating Project Labor Agreements for all projects over $1 million and investing in joint labor-management/state-registered apprenticeship programs. 

Workforce commitments include priority hiring programs for former coal industry workers and investing more than $4 million in the Centralia College training center to provide worker training.

We see many opportunities as we work through negotiations and begin to finalize the PNWH2 Hub scope. One area highlighted by the DOE is through the creation of a hydrogen-enabled, clean, heavy-duty trucking corridor along the entire West Coast of the U.S. 

Within a decade, the federal investment will help lower hydrogen production costs in our region and nationwide and establish a network of clean production, storage and distribution infrastructure. Those advancements will accelerate the use of clean hydrogen.

We also expect hydrogen will be available for use by individuals and organizations in hard-to-decarbonize industries. The specific cost will be driven by operating and capital costs determined by final feedstock (electricity) contracts and factors such as materials and construction costs.

In the first year, our collective efforts will encompass detailed planning and analysis activities to ensure that the overall H2Hub concept is technologically and financially viable, building on existing engagement with local communities to include further input from Tribes, partners and stakeholders. Then, DOE will evaluate the hub’s activities and deliver a go/no-go decision for moving to Phase 2.

Phase 2 may last up to two years and includes finalizing engineering designs and business development, site access, labor agreements, permitting, offtake agreements and community engagement activities. 

During Phase 3, approximately two to four years, the hub will focus on the implementation –  installation, integration and construction activities.

Finally, Phase 4, another two to four years, will ramp up the PNWH2 Hub to full operations, including data collection to analyze the hub’s operations, performance and financial viability.

It’s important to note that these are guidelines defined by the Department of Energy. We will bring projects online as soon as possible.

Energy prices are determined by local utility organizations in coordination with their governing public utility commissioners or regulators. We will work closely with the local commissioners and regulators to ensure they have all the information needed during their rate-setting processes.

Our intent with the PNWH2 Hub is not to incorporate an abundance of new pipelines. Simply said, that means we will limit the number of pipelines for our projects and use them only for local storage.

A large, regional hydrogen distribution pipeline is not part of the PNWH2 Hub. The initial phases of the hub may include some short-run pipelines (up to 20 miles) between production sites and end-users for local storage only. 

The PNWH2 Hub’s projects will produce electrolytic hydrogen from the region’s abundant and growing renewable electricity and non-stressed water sources – bringing environmentally responsible and sustainable solutions to market.

While new solar and wind energy projects are not part of the PNWH2 Hub, our projects are working closely with renewable electricity project developers to ensure a stable, growing supply of clean energy is available to meet hydrogen production needs. This is in alignment with analyses like the 2021 Washington State Energy Strategy that anticipate a need to approximately double renewable capacity by 2050.

Hydrogen will be stored at production and use sites using industry standard technologies, building on the decades of experience in handling hydrogen by our team members.

Private industry and government agencies have safely produced and used hydrogen for decades. Approximately 10 million tons of hydrogen are produced annually in the United States to make products like gasoline, silicon chips and food products like peanut butter.

Safety is paramount for this industry and will be for our efforts as well.

Additionally, we plan to engage with first responders, K-12 schools, higher education, community organizations and Tribal governments on a variety of programs, including hydrogen safety awareness and training.

The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub – or PNWH2 Hub – calls our project sites “nodes.” Each node consists of one or more projects working together to produce, store, transport, and use low-carbon hydrogen.

Potential General Locations of Proposed PNWH2 Hub Projects

PMWH2 Hup Proposed Projects and Expected End Uses

At a state, regional and national level, there is a clear recognition that Tribes be engaged and involved as environmental stewards, as project validators, and as partner governments. The Tribes are committed to ensuring real economic opportunities for the benefit of Tribal members and the communities they share, but only through sustainable and responsible environmental, cultural and socially equitable efforts. 

The details of these benefits vary by project and Tribe, but generally, the benefits focus on training programs and new clean energy economy jobs, including supply chain and contracting opportunities for local businesses. We expect reductions in local pollution burdens in some communities as fossil fuel infrastructure is converted or repurposed to clean hydrogen. We plan a variety of programs to support workers, including family care, transportation and hydrogen safety awareness and training. These programs build on the strong partnerships that the hub projects and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2) have worked to develop with Tribal governments, as evidenced by the two PNWH2 Board seats occupied by Tribal government representatives.

In addition to having Tribal governments as part of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association Board, we incorporated Tribal engagement into planning elements of the PNWH2 Hub. This engagement included formal government-to-government consultation when requested by Tribes and other communication venues to inform Tribes that chose not to participate in hub planning but may be impacted by the work. Further State Tribal liaisons were important resource people included as part of the proposal development.  The following activities are some examples in which the PNWH2 Hub and the Washington State Department of Commerce engaged and consulted Tribes during the application and review process:

• April 2022 – Former Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown and PNWH2 Chairman Chris Green sent letters to all 29 federally-recognized tribes in Washington notifying them of the intention to apply for DOE hub funding, inviting interested tribes to join the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association, and participate in the development of a full proposal. For those that followed up, PNWH2 and Commerce engaged with tribal leadership and staff to answer questions and discuss involvement.
• 2022 – Tribal-led organizations such as Northwest Tribal Indian College participates in PNWH2 project review process.
• January 2023 – PNWH2 presented on the proposed H2Hub to the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) Economic Development Committee.
• April 2023 — PNWH2 chairs and tribal board members sent a letter to tribal leaders in Washington, Oregon, and Montana, providing an update on the hub proposal process and a second invitation to formally participate.
• June 2023 – PNWH2 presented on the proposed H2Hub at the ATNI Clean Energy Summit.
• October 2023 – Commerce presented to Tribal Government Leaders at the Centennial Accord pre-meeting.

Through this next phase of negotiations with the DOE, PNWH2 Hub and Washington Department of Commerce will be strategically engaging with and consulting tribes further to explore potential interests and opportunities to get involved with the hub. The negotiations could take up to 6 months before detailed information about the H2Hub’s can be released. However, Commerce and State Tribal liaisons will continue to create space for ongoing feedback and engagement. Washington State University’s Office of Tribal Relations was also identified to lead the Tribal Community Benefits Plan and will support Commerce and State Tribal Liaisons in this work.

During Phase 1/year one, which is the detailed project planning phase (anticipated to begin after negotiations with DOE in early 2024), our project partners, who have been engaging with local communities for many months, will build on the PNWH2 Hub’s groundwork with extensive community and labor engagement.