Paul Rodden • Season: 2024 • Episode: 335
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 335, The Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub becomes the second hub to enter phase one funding from the Department of Energy and hydrogen fuel cell commuter trains enter the communal rail system in California. I’ll go over this news and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
The Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub becomes the second hub to enter phase one funding from the Department of Energy and hydrogen fuel cell commuter trains enter the communal rail system in California. I’ll go over this news and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy? Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally, and where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
In a press release on July 24 Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association Granted Phase 1 Award Status from U.S. Department of Energy. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2), a multi-state nonprofit organization focused on creating a robust network of clean hydrogen suppliers and end-users in the Pacific Northwest, announced today that it has received Phase 1 award status from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). PNWH2 is one of the first U.S. Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs to move into Phase 1. As part of this designation, PNWH2 will receive an initial amount of up to $27.5 million from a potential future $1 billion in federal funding, as outlined in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Phase 1 will encompass initial planning, permitting, and analysis activities to ensure that the overall Hub concept is technologically and financially viable, with input from relevant local stakeholders. “Today marks an important step for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association and is the culmination of many months of discussions, planning and negotiations across our partners, stakeholders and community members,” said Chris Green, President of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association. “We are excited to embark on Phase 1 and lead the way in building a new clean energy commodity in the U.S. that will benefit generations of families throughout the region.”
Together with its partners, PNWH2 is establishing the Pacific Northwest as a national benchmark for successful low-carbon intensity and economically viable green hydrogen production. The PNWH2 Hub expects to consist of eight nodes across Washington, Oregon, and Montana and will leverage the region’s innovative technology and abundant renewable energy to address the hardest to abate end-users, such as public transit, agricultural products, medium and heavy-duty transport and the electric power industry. Washington State University (WSU), with support from its Consortium for Hydrogen and Renewably Generated E-Fuels (CHARGE), will oversee the Community Benefits Plan for the PNWH2 Hub in alignment with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 initiative.
PNWH2 is committed to engaging communities to define and quantify benefits, avoid disproportionate burdens, and closely track and adjust to ensure that at least 40% of benefits flow to disadvantaged communities. These benefits will include the creation of more than 10,000 quality jobs and the development of STEM-based education programs from K-12 through college to ensure a pipeline of trained and qualified workers to build, then operate and maintain the Hub’s hydrogen projects. Project management for the PNWH2 Hub is led by AtkinsRéalis US Nuclear, a world-leading professional services and project management company. Okay, so right on the heels of ARCHES we have PNWH2 announcing that they have also cleared into phase one to receive the first tranche of capital from the DOE, in their case, slightly less than the 30 million of ARCHES at $27.2 million still a substantial enough figure to begin verifying project scope and distribution.
One particular piece in this press release that I appreciate is the focus on education, K through 12 and college education and training is a very important factor, and the ability to rely on future labor market is critical to success, and I know every hub needed to include something along those lines in their application, but it’s good to see it highlighted in this press release. next in an article in CNET, Tamara Palmer writes The first zero emission Hydrogen train in the US is setting off in late 2024.
As zero emission cars gain in popularity, you can expect to hear more about sustainable trains. The first zero emission, hydrogen powered passenger train in the US, called the flirt h2 will begin service later this year in Southern California, the record holding. Commuter train will operate on the aeroline of the Metrolink train. This according to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, which they announced earlier this month, but don’t expect to take it cross country or even from one end of the state to the other.
The train will travel a 9.6 mile route between San Bernardino and Redlands, California. Besides running on zero emissions, the flirt h2 will also offer passengers a quieter experience on their rides than the country’s current diesel powered trains. In a quote from Tim Watkins San Bernardino County Transportation authority’s chief of Legislative and Public Affairs, when you’re on the flirt h2 train, you can sit across from one another, either at a table or facing seats on the train and have a very quiet, pleasant, normal conversation, uninterrupted by what typically we experience with train noise.
FLIRT H₂, manufactured by Swiss company Stadler Rail, has already set a world record even before welcoming riders onboard. In March, it set the record for the longest distance by a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric multiple unit train without refueling, making it into the Guinness Book of World Records by traveling 1,742 miles straight on a test track in Colorado. It began running with full tanks on March 20, and stopped once the tanks were empty on March 22. “Stadler is consistently focusing on the future of rail transportation with alternative drive systems by continuously developing innovative technologies,” Stadler US CEO Martin Ritter said in an article posted on the company’s website. “By using hydrogen as a clean energy source, we are actively contributing to environmental protection and shaping the sustainable and zero emission travel of tomorrow.”
The train industry in the US is moving towards sustainability. In an April release, Amtrak stated that the company is aiming to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2045. And in its statement, Stadler says it’s the first train manufacturer in the world to produce narrow-gauge hydrogen trains, and that the company has been contracted to supply a total of 15 hydrogen-powered vehicles in Italy. The ferry industry is on board with similar sustainability efforts as well. The first hydrogen-powered ferry is expected to debut in San Francisco this year. Okay, so I actually have an interesting story to go along with this really exciting news for the US rail. My son is infatuated with trains. You can’t get enough of them.
Well, this summer, my family and I are staying in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a small, two hour drive from here is Chama, New Mexico, which has one of the last steam trains still in use in the US and was my son’s dream to ride that train while we’re in New Mexico. Well, at the halfway point, we stopped for lunch, and my son had to sit with the train crew, and in doing so, my son also mentions that I’m in hydrogen surprisingly, the crew turns around and begins to tell me about this very announcement and asking what I knew about hydrogens role in the future of rail transit. And it turns out that even in this remote setting of steam engines and short run trips, the idea of transitioning to hydrogen fuel cells for rail is a big deal, and most of the crew had some knowledge of what the larger commercial transport rail lines are considering for decarbonizing their portfolio, with hydrogen playing a large part in that transition.
But as for this particular project, I’m skeptically hopeful that the flirt h2 will be successful. Hydrogen is still hard to come by in California, and this bit of news didn’t mention how the train would get its hydrogen supply. Now, with arches moving forward, that has the high potential of providing hydrogen, but we are still several years out from seeing hydrogen from ARCHES getting delivered, especially for commuter rail and California doesn’t make it easy to get hydrogen projects off the ground, which is one of the reasons why those of you out in California Driving the Mirai are disgruntled, there is a decent market for hydrogen there, but very little supply.
My hope is that with this project and others like the flirt h2 moving into the state, it will create such a strong demand side push for hydrogen that regulatory agencies pull back their Stranglehold and allow for hydrogen development in the state.
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. So until next time, keep your eyes up and honor one another.
Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did and want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
