Houston Hub Says Hy to Hydrogen

HyVelocity Hub—a partnership including GTI Energy, the Center for Houston’s Future, the University of Texas at Austin, Air Liquide, Chevron, and more—will be applying for U.S. Department of Energy Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub funding.

HyVelocity Hub aims to advance clean hydrogen projects in Texas, Southwest Louisiana, and the surrounding Gulf Coast region. The initiative envisions a hydrogen ecosystem extending from Corpus Christi to southwest Louisiana and from the Gulf Coast into the Texas Panhandle. This area, including our hometown of Houston, has been going big on clean hydrogen. 

From H2 View

Previous reports from the Center for Houston’s Future and the Greater Houston Partnership show that Houston and the broader Gulf Coast region are well positioned to play a central role in the energy transition and clean hydrogen production. The Gulf Coast is already one of the nation’s largest hydrogen producers, and it is home to a diverse array of energy resources, including hydrogen production facilities and pipelines, a large base of industrial energy consumers, and a skilled, technical workforce. 

Through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) earmarked $8 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Hub program. According to the DOE, the program will create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier that can deliver or store tremendous amounts of energy.

Paula A. Gant, PhD, President and CEO of GTI Energy, said, “We need hydrogen deployment at scale, and this hub will lay the foundation with complete end-to-end demonstrations of an integrated network, match supply and demand regionally or locally, and leverage existing infrastructure to deliver resilient, reliable, and sustainable clean energy.”

The deadline to submit full project applications is April 7, 2023, and HyVelocity Hub expects to receive feedback from the DOE on its concept paper by the end of 2022 to continue the planning process. 

Those involved, and those of us in the area, have “hy” hopes.