A LaSalle County nuclear power plant could have a big role to play in the quest to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
What's being billed as the world's largest nuclear powered clean hydrogen facility is planned for Constellation's LaSalle Clean Energy Center near Marseilles. The $900 million project would produce around 33,450 metric tons of hydrogen per year when completed. Construction would be funded in part by the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2) hydrogen hub.
But what exactly is a hydrogen hub, and how does hydrogen fit into the larger clean energy puzzle? WCBU sought to find the answers to those questions and more.
What is a regional clean hydrogen hub?
Simply put, a regional hydrogen hub is a cog in an envisioned national network that would build out the resources needed to widely offer commercial-scale clean hydrogen as an alternative fuel source. The U.S. Department of Energy believes building out hydrogen could reduce carbon emissions by up to 25 million metric tons a year, or the equivalent of 5.5 million gasoline-powered vehicles.
MachH2 (pronounced MACH TWO) was one of seven hydrogen hubs recently selected to receive up to $1 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. MachH2 is a collaboration of more than 70 public and private entities concentrated in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.
Lawmakers from U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood to U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have hailed the award as a win for the 16th Congressional District and Illinois at large.
MachH2 CEO Dorothy Davidson said they now need to negotiate award terms with the Department of Energy.
"We don't have a contract right now. We've been told it's up to a billion dollars, but that's not been negotiated. So the next step for us is really to negotiate, look at all the proposed and DOE decides they want to make some alterations or some changes in there," she said. "That would be the big thing, is to actually come to the negotiation, which will take months to get to the point that we actually have an award that we're working."
The process is expected to take months. Davidson noted the DOE is negotiating seven contracts simultaneously around the country.
How would hydrogen be used?
Hydrogen isn't a new energy source. Neil Banwart, the chief integration officer for MachH2, notes some industries have utilized it for nearly a century.
The hydrogen hub concept expands the potential uses. For instance, Banwart said battery electric isn't necessarily the best model for every vehicle. That's particularly true for vehicles traveling long distance, such as those used in logistics.
"It's more difficult to have a battery electric long haul truck, versus a passenger car like a Tesla. Those can be electrified. It's harder to electrify those long haul heavy duty trucks," he said. "And so that's one of the reasons why we think using hydrogen as a fuel is a good use case."
Banwart said new trucks can be built using hydrogen fuel cells, or they can be retrofitted. Hydrogen fuel cells could also offer alternatives for aviation, rail, and marine transportation.
Industries like steel and glassmaking which require high amounts of heat may also be better suited for hydrogen power than electric energy, Banwart said.
What makes hydrogen 'clean'?
Hydrogen itself is a clean fuel, but it isn't necessarily produced through clean methods. Most hydrogen used today is produced by reforming natural gas. The so-called "gray hydrogen" process releases greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
A clean hydrogen mitigates those carbon emissions. Different processes are described by color. Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis that's powered by a clean energy source like wind or solar. Blue hydrogen is when the carbon emissions produced through natural gas reformation are captured and sequestered underground instead of released into the air.
Banwart said the LaSalle Clean Energy Center project is an example of pink hydrogen. It's similar to the green process, but the electrolysis is powered by nuclear energy.
"We have blue, and green and pink hydrogen in our different locations," Banwart said. "But we intend to produce all three colors."
What else needs to happen to take hydrogen usage to the next level?
Banwart said Illinois and the Midwest already enjoy some unique infrastructural advantages. That includes access to the Great Lakes and the six Class A rail lines converging in Chicago, not to mention the numerous major interstates and airports. He said an expansive pipeline network is also a big plus.
He cautioned that there is still work to do to capitalize on that base, however.
"The infrastructure, to be clear, for building out the whole value chain of hydrogen does does need to be built out," he said. "You think of the heavy duty truck market. And you need hydrogen refueling stations at certain locations. And in the Midwest, there's very, very few hydrogen refueling stations."
Clean hydrogen is also more expensive than gasoline. It's a delta Banwart acknowledges, but he believes the regional hydrogen hubs will make the fuel more competitive.
"Part of this hub program is as you produce more hydrogen scale, the price per units per kilogram or gallon equivalent would would come down. And so that's the goal, is to try to bridge that gap as much as you can," he said.
Davidson believes hydrogen will have a support base as more industries like trucking and rail look to decarbonize.
"The need is really here. And so there is a lot of opportunities with the Midwest," she said.
