The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) — one of three regional hydrogen hubs in which NETL is participating — recently took a major step forward with the opening of a program office in Morgantown, WV, a step that will help jumpstart the region’s hydrogen economy.

ARCH2 is a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub comprised of 11 project development partners who will be building the hydrogen production, transportation, storage, and end use facilities that will make up the hub. Hydrogen is a valuable energy product that can be produced with zero or near-zero carbon emissions and is crucial to meeting the nation’s clean energy goals.

NETL is included in ARCH2’s Program Management Office and is primarily tasked with coordinating techno-economic and life-cycle analyses for the hub. In addition, NETL will perform market analyses to assist in balancing of hydrogen supply and demand across the hub while minimizing overall cost and emissions, accelerating the commercial-scale deployment of low-cost, clean hydrogen across the region. 

“NETL is excited to participate in the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs as they provide the opportunity to leverage laboratory strengths in both engineering and systems and analysis to characterize hydrogen costs, market impacts, and associated greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the proposed sites,” NETL Director Marianne Walck said. “Opening the ARCH2 program office in Morgantown, in close proximity to our facility, is an exciting step that we expect to be followed by further collaboration with our partners in order to create high-paying jobs and public-private partnerships that will create a regional network for hydrogen manufacturing and production.”

Led by Battelle and supported by the new program management office in Morgantown comprising Allegheny Science and Technology, GTI Energy and TRC Companies, ARCH2 is a collaborative initiative between private industry, state and local governments, academic and technology institutions, non-profit organizations and community groups working together to build a safe and sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem in Appalachia.

In July, DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) awarded Battelle with $30 million to begin Phase 1, which is expected to last up to 36 months and includes planning, design and community and labor engagement activities. During the first phase, each ARCH2 subrecipient will be responsible for the planning and development of their respective projects, while all entities in the hub will implement the community benefits commitments jointly. OCED will provide project management oversight of ARCH2 by evaluating the status and quality of implementation at each phase of the project.

The scope of the ARCH2 includes the proposed design, construction, and operation of diverse projects owned by the subrecipients. Diversity of the proposed projects is a key and differentiating feature of the Hub, which include various proposed technologies, hydrogen production feedstocks delivery pathways, end-use sectors and locational benefits.

The subrecipients are also diverse, ranging from large, established energy-sector companies to emerging technology companies, small commercial and regional businesses that bring unique and agile business models, and experienced DOE contractors. ARCH2’s portfolio approach balances program risks, helping to ensure Hub objectives are met, with projects that demonstrate proper maturation and support progressing from one phase to the next.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the hydrogen hubs will accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of clean hydrogen and help to generate clean, dispatchable power, create a new form of energy storage, and decarbonize heavy industry and transportation. DOE announced funding for seven total regional hubs.

NETL is partnering on three of the seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that were selected for funding. More information on the NETL-supported hubs can be found here.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers 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.