The Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Partnership made up of Linde, Energy Harbor, GE Aerospace, Cleveland-Cliffs steel manufacturing and the University of Toledo have moved forward with submittal of their application as a Hydrogen Hub with the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The DOE wants to establish 6-10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the country and the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Partnership believes the Ohio region is a prime location for a clean hydrogen hub due to its access to ample carbon free nuclear power, access to Interstate 80 and Interstate 75, a high concentration of manufacturing and technology companies, the Great Lakes marine shipping fleet, and a highly skilled workforce.

The low-carbon hydrogen would be produced at Energy Harbor’s 2.8 GW (gigawatt) Davis-Besse nuclear plant (pictured below), where hydrogen can be produced at a “very competitive price” and meet the ultra-pure DOE standards without the need to sequester carbon dioxide.  This central location will benefit the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Partnership in serving the Ohio and Michigan region’s automotive, power generation, trucking, technology, and steel manufacturing suppliers.

The region’s 20.5 GW of nuclear power generation capacity has the potential to produce 8,900 to 12,300 tons/day of hydrogen from electrolysis. Producing, processing, delivering, storing, and using clean hydrogen in the industrial sector is critical to the DOE’s strategy for reaching President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.