The United States Department of Energy has committed to constructing a network of hydrogen hubs comprising pipelines and hydrogen facilities in southeast Pennsylvania. The project is part of a massive $7 billion investment in hydrogen hubs that would see hydrogen become one of the country’s main renewable alternatives to fossil fuels.
However, critics of the $7 billion hydrogen hub project have questioned the high costs involved as well as its projected net carbon emission savings. Outgoing President Joe Biden announced the $7 billion investment in the fall of 2023, stating that it would fund the construction of 7 hydrogen hubs across the U.S. over the next 8-12 years.
The Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2) would cover southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey into Delaware and comprise more than 12 interconnected production centers, pipelines, storage facilities, and solar farms to power the hub.
MACH2 is set to receive federal funding worth $750 million and is expected to create around 20,800 new jobs, 6,400 of them permanent, in the Delaware Valley. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a ‘robust’ expansion of the region’s hydrogen production capacity could provide more than enough clean energy for energy-intensive industries such as cement production and steel making.
These industries generate over one-fifth of America’s carbon emissions and are notoriously difficult to decarbonize. Hydrogen could also lower emissions from trucks, airplanes, and ships which consume copious amounts of fossil fuel and aren’t especially suited to conventional electric batteries. However, some energy experts and environmentalists question whether the government should invest so much money in hydrogen when the funds could be spent on more effective means of decarbonization.
Even if the hydrogen hubs are fully powered by renewable energy, they note that the hubs may still not provide the projected carbon emissions savings and could raise carbon emissions. Furthermore, host communities in southeast Pennsylvania, particularly the city of Chester where some MACH2 facilities will be located, may be subject to the potential hazards and health risks associated with producing and transporting hydrogen in a densely populated urban area.
The fact that precious few of the project’s details have been revealed to the public a year after it was announced has also unnerved many community groups as many will have to live and work next to the hydrogen production facilities, storage centers, and pipelines. Officials say that they still haven’t finalized plans for the hub and are currently awaiting Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approvals, private investor commitments, and the finalization of contracts between the firms that will join the hub and the DOE.
As different forms of renewable energy are introduced and gain market share, the role of entities like Reflex Advanced Materials Corp. (CSE: RFLX) (OTCQB: RFLXF) in the mining industry will be critical in ensuring that adequate supplies of minerals are available to power the infrastructure construction vital to taking these clean energies to the intended users.
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