DECD0000042

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub consists of project locations across North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, with the potential to expand into neighboring states, that will leverage the region’s abundant energy resources to help decarbonize the agricultural sector’s production of fertilizer and decrease the regional cost of clean hydrogen.

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub also proposes to use clean hydrogen for power generation in a manner that may catalyze co-firing hydrogen in utility-owned generation across the country.

The Hub plans to offer unique opportunities of equity ownership with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and to local farmers and farmer co-ops through a private sector partnership that will allow local farmers to receive more competitive pricing for clean fertilizer.

These initiatives can help reduce roughly 1 million metric tons per year of carbon emissions—roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 220,000 gasoline-powered cars—while extending profit-sharing and benefits from the expanding hydrogen economy to wider communities, a model with the potential for replication across the Midwest.

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub’s use of open access storage and pipeline infrastructure will create a hydrogen network accessible to both current and new hydrogen users.

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub has committed tens of millions of dollars to create an education consortium to oversee career development, workforce training, apprenticeship programs, and K-12 STEM education, which includes several tribal colleges and universities.

A goal of the Heartland Hydrogen Hub is to contract hundreds of millions of dollars for businesses owned by women, minorities, disabled veterans, disadvantaged communities, or LGBTQ persons.

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub anticipates creating upwards of 3,880 direct jobs–3,067 in construction jobs and 703 permanent jobs.

To oversee implementation of the Community Benefits Plan (CBP), this H2HUB intends to create a CBP advisory board.

Heartland Hydrogen Hub

1. ACHIEVE A TARGET OF 163 METRIC TONS PER DAY (MTPD) OF CLEAN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY THE END OF THE AWARD, ALL BEING FROM CARBON-FREE (RENEWABLE AND/OR NUCLEAR) ENERGY RESOURCES. 2. DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A HYDROGEN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK TO DIRECTLY CONNECT HYDROGEN PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS BOTH WITHIN THE HUB AND WITHIN THE LOCAL AREA, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN PIPELINES, TRANSPORTATION, AND STORAGE (AS NEEDED TO SUPPORT PROJECT NEEDS AND VIABILITY). 3. ENSURE PRODUCTION OF CLEAN HYDROGEN IS BALANCED WITH OFFTAKE. DEMONSTRATE USE OF CLEAN HYDROGEN THROUGH COMMITTED OFF-TAKERS APPLICABLE TO THE REGION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FERTILIZER MANUFACTURE, INDUSTRIAL USE, AND POWER GENERATION. SUPPORT THE FARMING AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY IN THE MIDWEST REGION THROUGH THE HUB’S IMPACTS ON AMMONIA-BASED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION, PROVIDING COST BENEFITS AND SECURITY OF SUPPLY TO LOCAL FARMERS AND FARMER CO-OPS. 4. ACTIVELY PROMOTE AND IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY-FIRST CULTURE (HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, PHYSICAL, AND CYBER SECURITY) WITHIN THE HUB AND DEVELOP AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES TO ADVANCE A SAFE, CLEAN HYDROGEN ECONOMY NATIONALLY. 5. CREATE AT LEAST 250 QUALITY (ACCORDING TO GOOD JOBS PRINCIPLES AS DEFINED BY THE OFFICE OF ENERGY JOBS) PERMANENT OPERATIONS JOBS WITH OPPORTUNITIES EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED TO MEMBERS OF ALL COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. DEPENDENT ON DETERMINED PROJECT LOCATIONS, BUILD AND FOSTER POSITIVE WORKING AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. 6. ADVANCE ROBUST STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT THAT INTEGRATES COMMUNITY INPUT INTO DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES TO IMPLEMENT PROJECTS THAT MITIGATE POTENTIAL HARMS AND WHOSE BENEFITS ADVANCE DISADVANTAGED AND TRIBAL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY. COLLABORATE WITH REGIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOLS, TRIBAL COLLEGES, AND UNIVERSITIES, ALONG WITH FEDERAL, STATE, AND PRIVATE ENTITIES TO DEVELOP AN EDUCATIONAL CONSORTIUM THAT PROMOTES STEM EDUCATION TO ADVANCE AN EQUITABLE PIPELINE FOR THE HH2H WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE. 7. ENABLE MARKET LIFT-OFF AND EXPANSION IN THE REGION BY DEVELOPING LESSONS LEARNED, SHARING INFORMATION, AND FACILITATING THE BUILD-OUT OF THE U.S. CLEAN HYDROGEN NETWORK.

81.255 - Clean Energy Demonstrations

Department of Energy (DOE)

Multi-State United States

Multi-State

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Additional Clean Hydrogen Programs (Section 40314): Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) (DE-FOA-0002779)