Future Of Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub Uncertain As Trump Inauguration Looms, Partners Bow Out

Last year, many Delaware Valley lawmakers were sure that a $750M federally funded hydrogen production project would solidify the region as a green energy powerhouse.

But the entire proposal is now up in the air following Donald Trump’s election and some second-guessing from corporations that had been set to build facilities making up the so-called hydrogen hub, one of seven such regional hubs intended to cluster infrastructure, companies and resources to develop hydrogen as a sustainable energy source.

The Biden administration announced plans to spend up to $750M on the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub last October. Plans called for the build-out of about 20 facilities across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and the massive project was expected to create 20,800 direct jobs and draw private companies and investment to the region. 

“This investment is a game changer for our Commonwealth and for the energy economy,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement at the time. “With this new hydrogen hub, we have the chance to prove ourselves again as the center of the clean energy universe.”

But with Trump set to take the reins next month, green energy is expected to take a back seat for at least the next four years, Inside Climate News reported. It isn't clear if the Biden administration will push the project through before then.

Some environmentalists and energy experts have raised questions about spending billions on hydrogen when more effective decarbonization strategies exist, noting that hydrogen hubs might not reduce carbon significantly and could even boost emissions.

Amid the uncertainty, some private sector companies associated with the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub appear to be retreating. Industrial gas supplier Messer nixed plans for electrolysis facilities in Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to Inside Climate, while green hydrogen company sHYp has abandoned its plans for a similar plant in Wilmington.

HRP Group, the real estate company overseeing the $4B redevelopment of a former oil refinery site in Philadelphia, has also put off plans to use green hydrogen for power and steam generation in new buildings, according to Inside Climate News.

“There is a huge potential for Trump’s lack of focus on emissions or decarbonization [to] hinder progress of hydrogen hubs,” Bridget van Dorsten, a principal analyst at consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, told the climate news site. “Without funding, we may continue to see partners pull out of hubs.”