NETL Director Brian Anderson will serve on a panel to discuss the use of Appalachia’s abundant, low-cost energy resources to enable and sustain a regional clean hydrogen hub Tuesday, May 2, during the West Virginia Manufacturing Energy Growth (MEG) Summit at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling.

“I am honored to take part in this event and outline the transformational work we are advancing at NETL to develop hydrogen as a clean technology to address climate change and drive economic growth,” said Anderson, who will be joined by leaders from EQT Corp., Allegheny Science & Technology and others for the panel discussion at 10:15 a.m.

The panel will explore how West Virginia is uniquely positioned to take advantage of federal and private opportunities to establish the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). In January, the ARCH2 team received notification from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that it was among applicants encouraged to submit a full application for regional clean hydrogen hub funding.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established an $8 billion program to develop regional clean hydrogen hubs across America to decarbonize multiple economic sectors, including heavy-duty transportation and steel manufacturing, create good-paying jobs and pave the way toward a grid powered by clean energy resources. 

ARCH2’s location, concentrated in Appalachian counties across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, is centered in the nation’s second-largest natural gas-producing region, which provides an abundance of end-use opportunities.

Most hydrogen produced today in the United States is made via steam-methane reforming, a mature production process in which high-temperature steam is used to produce hydrogen from a methane source such as natural gas. However, the process also generates carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. NETL is leading research to capture the carbon associated with hydrogen production and sequester it in deep underground reservoirs or use it to make value-added products.

“Advances made in these projects will help achieve the DOE Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per 1 kg in one decade (1-1-1) and support President Biden’s vision for a net-zero emissions economy by 2050,” Anderson said.

Anderson will also discuss other NETL efforts in the development of hydrogen technologies. “Clean hydrogen can serve as a great energy carrier that will play a key role in the decarbonization of the industrial sector including chemicals, steel and cement. That’s only one set of the exciting NETL-supported technologies that position West Virginia to continue as a strong leader in domestic energy production and build the next generation of energy infrastructure,” Anderson said.

Click here to register for the West Virginia MEG Summit hosted by the West Virginia Manufacturers Association. The full agenda is available here.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.