(Reuters) The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) submitted a proposal for a hydrogen-production hub in the state to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE said in February that the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $8 billion for regional clean hydrogen hubs to support efforts to cut U.S. emissions.
"The Alaska Hydrogen Hub concept anticipates using $850 million in DOE funding along with $3.75 billion in private-sector funds, backed by offtake agreements from hydrogen customers in the U.S. and Asia," the Alaskan state-owned AGDC said.
The proposal envisions the hub initially producing over 600 tons of hydrogen a day, well over DOE's minimum requirement of 50 tons per day for successful projects, before eventually ramping up to making 1,600 tons daily.
Hydrogen, a clean energy source, has a wide range of uses including generating electricity and powering fuel cells in zero-emission vehicles.
AGDC is also developing the $38.7 billion Alaska LNG project, that would move gas currently in northern Alaska across the state.
The hub would use natural gas feedstock from the Alaska LNG project, the least carbon intensive LNG project in the U.S., and sequester carbon released during production, AGDC said.
The project is supported by companies, including Australian natural gas producer Santos Ltd. and agricultural chemicals maker Agrium U.S., which owns an idle ammonia plant near the planned facility of the Alaska LNG Project.
AGDC said last month that it will study the feasibility of producing ammonia, a hydrogen-rich fuel, in the state's Cook Inlet region with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. and TOYO Engineering Corp. and Hilcorp Alaska.
