The Obsidian Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub submitted its final application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for federal hydrogen hub funding.
The plan supports the development of a hydrogen network in the Northwest powered entirely by renewable electricity.
DOE is administering $8 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill designed to scale up the production of low-carbon (“clean”) hydrogen by funding what they call hydrogen hubs, infrastructure to produce, store, and distribute clean hydrogen. DOE expects hydrogen hubs to “form the foundation of a national clean hydrogen network that will contribute substantially to decarbonizing multiple sectors of the economy.” The Obsidian Pacific NW Hydrogen Hub will leverage private funding with $700 million from the DOE for its multi-billion-dollar project.
“We are proud to be one of only 33 projects across the country to be encouraged by DOE to apply for funding,” said David Brown, senior principal and co-founder of Obsidian Renewables. “Because of our partnerships with labor, business, and the community, we believe we are strongly positioned to help bring clean, renewable hydrogen to the Pacific Northwest.”
The complete plan envisions hydrogen production, storage, and distribution. Hydrogen is a versatile industrial feedstock and fuel that the hydrogen hub will supply to various industries such as agriculture, advanced energy manufacturing, data centers, hospitals, ports, power plants, and domestic fertilizer producers.
"Our plan is unique. We will connect purpose-built wind and solar to electrolyzers, allowing the region to develop renewable energy that isn’t otherwise accessible, turning it into flexible, reliable generation,” said Ken Dragoon, Obsidian Renewables’ director of hydrogen development. “The Hub’s primary objective is to provide the lowest-cost green hydrogen to its customers. Achieving this requires the availability of low-cost, low-carbon feedstocks, affordable storage, and production near customers. Our plan will do just that.”
Anchor sites in Moses Lake, Washington, and Hermiston, Oregon will use power from new renewable wind and solar power plants to split water in a process called electrolysis. These renewable energy sources will power hundreds of megawatts of electrolyzers capable of producing 360 metric tons of hydrogen daily. The project is committed to using local and union labor.
