HyVelocity Selected by U.S. Department of Energy to Develop Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub

HyVelocity will rapidly scale clean hydrogen supply and demand and deliver community benefits along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Southwest Louisiana

Houston, Oct. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the HyVelocity Hub team announced it has been selected by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to begin award negotiations for the development of the HyVelocity Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, which is estimated to receive up to $1.2 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. HyVelocity will leverage the world’s largest concentration of existing hydrogen production and end-use assets in Texas and Southwest Louisiana to deliver the benefits of clean hydrogen and good-paying jobs to local communities.

HyVelocity is an industry-led hydrogen hub that includes seven core industry partners – AES Corporation, Air Liquide, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Mitsubishi Power Americas, Orsted, and Sempra Infrastructure. HyVelocity is administered by GTI Energy and includes a wide array of organizations, including organizing participants, the University of Texas at Austin, The Center for Houston’s Future, and Houston Advanced Research Center. HyVelocity also has 90+ supporting partners from industry, community engagement and labor organizations, non-profits, academic, and state and local governments.

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With more than 1,000 miles of dedicated hydrogen pipelines, 48 hydrogen production plants and dozens of hydrogen end-use applications, the Gulf Coast is already the heart of hydrogen infrastructure and use in the United States. HyVelocity will build on the region’s diverse array of energy resources, including hydrogen production facilities and pipelines, renewable energy, a large base of industrial energy consumers, and a skilled workforce.

The HyVelocity Hub is primed to deliver jobs and economic benefits to the most vulnerable communities in the Gulf Coast, while striving to enhance labor standards, improve local air quality, and ensure that disadvantaged communities receive at least 40% of the clean energy benefits, in accordance with the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. The HyVelocity Hub will continue to prioritize close collaboration with community and labor organizations to ensure voices are heard and input is addressed.

HyVelocity’s impressive mix of support from industry and diverse sets of regional stakeholder organizations demonstrates strong collaboration and a shared commitment to decarbonize economies. HyVelocity’s partners are contributing decades of experience and keen competencies to achieve DOE's goals to rapidly deploy clean energy benefits to Americans, and accelerate production, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen in the United States.

The DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) will kickstart a national network of clean hydrogen producers, consumers, and connective infrastructure while supporting the production, storage, delivery, and end-use of clean hydrogen. Funded by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the H2Hubs will accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of clean hydrogen—helping generate clean, dispatchable power, create a new form of energy storage, and decarbonize heavy industry and transportation. Together, they will also reduce 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from end-uses each year—an amount roughly equivalent to combined annual emissions of 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars—and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs across the country while supporting healthier communities and strengthening America's energy security.

“I’d like to thank Secretary Granholm, Under Secretary Crane, and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations at the Department of Energy for this important opportunity to demonstrate that Houston is uniquely able and willing to lead in the global energy transition,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “As I’ve stated repeatedly over the past years, we are uniquely positioned to lead a transformational clean hydrogen hub that will deliver economic growth and good jobs, including in historically underserved communities. HyVelocity will also help scale up national and world clean hydrogen economies, resulting in significant decarbonization gains. I’d also like to thank all the partners who came together to create HyVelocity Hub in a true spirit of public-private collaboration.”

“As a member of the HyVelocity Hub, AES is pleased to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy and other industry leaders in an effort to advance the hydrogen market. The funding from the U.S. Department of Energy will help advance critical infrastructure by supporting the establishment and growth of a clean hydrogen hub, bringing economic and social benefits to communities throughout the Gulf Coast while also accelerating decarbonization in the region,” said Neeraj Bhat, Head of US Hydrogen, AES. “At AES, our purpose is to accelerate the future of energy, and we look forward to participating in the next steps of this public-private partnership.”

“We are deeply honored to be selected for DOE funding for the HyVelocity Hub and we fully acknowledge the substantial responsibility it entails. As a founding member of HyVelocity, we are committed to using this federal investment to expedite the hydrogen market by leveraging our expertise across the hydrogen value chain and optimizing the assets of the Gulf Coast,” said Katie Ellet, President of Hydrogen Energy & Mobility, North America, Air Liquide. “This investment represents a pivotal step in decarbonizing our planet and revolutionizing mobility, serving as a powerful example of successful public-private partnerships in scaling up hydrogen and advancing the energy transition.”

“As one of the seven industry members of HyVelocity, Chevron is pleased to be part of this public-private partnership to advance a hydrogen hub that supports a lower carbon future,” said Austin Knight, Vice President of Hydrogen, Chevron New Energies. “Chevron is pursuing commercial opportunities through partnerships demonstrating our desire to develop technology, build infrastructure and connect supply chains to deliver real-world hydrogen applications for customers.”

“If the world is going to make progress toward net-zero emissions, governments, universities, and companies need to work together to accelerate the development and deployment of critical solutions such as low carbon hydrogen,” said Mark Klewpatinond, Hydrogen Global Business Manager, ExxonMobil. “We look forward to helping HyVelocity Hub further advance hydrogen deployment across the Gulf Coast using our extensive experience.”

“This funding from the DOE is a powerful and significant step in the development of the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub, a project that will provide important economic and social benefits to the Gulf Coast region and where a strong hydrogen infrastructure is already in place,” said Michael Ducker, Senior Vice President of Hydrogen Infrastructure, Mitsubishi Power Americas. “At Mitsubishi Power, we believe that by bringing the right public and private partners together, we can collectively advance the role of hydrogen in a cleaner, carbon-free energy future. As one of the core industry partners, we look forward to providing our proven project development expertise and world-class hydrogen technology to the HyVelocity Hub.”

“Ørsted is proud to be a part of the HyVelocity Hub and grateful for the support of the U.S. Department of Energy as we expand our power-to-x (P2X) solutions to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors in the United States,” said Melissa Peterson, Head of Ørsted Americas P2X. “The Gulf Coast is well-positioned to be a leader in the production of green hydrogen and e-fuels, building on its legacy of American energy leadership, and the HyVelocity Hub will make the Houston area a catalyst for this critical technology. The Hub partnership will leverage cross-sector expertise, community partnerships and public-private investment to create high-quality, good-paying jobs while benefiting local communities and contributing to a cleaner energy future.”

“Sempra Infrastructure is committed to investing in infrastructure opportunities that enable a sustainable and secure energy future, and today’s announcement is another milestone in this effort. Our participation in the HyVelocity Hub will further our strategy while unlocking new and equitable economic growth opportunities for communities throughout the Gulf Coast region,” said Justin Bird, CEO, Sempra Infrastructure. “Our collaborative work with other HyVelocity participants is a significant step in our ability to support the energy transition and reductions in global emissions.”

“It is our privilege to serve a catalyzing role in the economic transformation intended by DOE’s historic investment in scaling the production of clean hydrogen to meet growing regional demands, advance industrial transitions, and address the economic needs of long-underserved communities,” said Paula A. Gant, PhD, President and CEO, GTI Energy. “Prioritizing strong community engagement and demonstrating an innovation ecosystem, the HyVelocity Hub will improve local air quality and create equitable access to clean, reliable, affordable energy for communities across the Gulf Coast region.”

“We are excited to get to work making HyVelocity come to life,” said Brett Perlman, President and CEO, Center for Houston’s Future. “We look forward to spurring economic growth and development, creating jobs, and reducing emissions in ways that will benefit local communities and the Gulf Coast region as a whole. HyVelocity will be a model for creating a clean hydrogen ecosystem in an inclusive and equitable manner.”

“The University of Texas at Austin is proud to be a founding member of the HyVelocity Hub, which will leverage this federal investment to accelerate the clean hydrogen ecosystem in Texas, Southwest Louisiana, and along the U.S. Gulf Coast,” said Brian Korgel, Energy Institute Director, The University of Texas at Austin. “By advancing the global clean hydrogen market, we will help to decarbonize multiple sectors of the economy and support equitable economic development across the region.”

“Port Houston celebrates DOE’s approval of this historic HyVelocity Hub and funding for clean hydrogen,” said Rich Byrnes, Chief Infrastructure Officer, Port Houston. “Clearly the Houston region’s unique combination of innovation, capital, infrastructure and will to drive the energy transition will deliver cleaner transportation, lower emissions and economic and environmental value for the next generation.”

“The Houston Advanced Research Center looks forward to working with HyVelocity to ensure that 40% or more of the benefits of this federal investment flow to disadvantaged communities, as outlined in the federal government’s Justice40 Initiative,” said John Hall, President & CEO, Houston Advanced Research Center. “We are committed to leveraging our expertise to support industrial climate equity and air quality efforts that breathe life into the communities that need it most. Disadvantaged communities impacted by HyVelocity’s operations are characterized by a lack of infrastructure investment, high joblessness, high energy burden, and environmental hardships. HyVelocity is committed to open and transparent dialogue with impacted communities to help deliver improved quality of life, provide good paying jobs, and grow women- and minority-owned businesses. HARC is proud to be a part of this effort.”

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