Biden administration to announce hydrogen hub grants Friday – sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration is expected to announce on Friday the winners of $7 billion in federal grants to build out regional hydrogen hubs, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The announcement is part of President Joe Biden’s effort to decarbonize the economy by mid-century and is intended to set the U.S. on a path to produce 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050. 

The Department of Energy declined to comment on when the grants would be announced.

The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated up to $7 billion to launch the initiative, called the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, which will help fund six to 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the United States.

In 2022, 79 applicants sent letters of interest to the Energy Department for the hub grants, and by January, the DOE had selected 33 teams to move forward.

The administration has also earmarked billions of dollars more in subsidies for hydrogen producers in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Biden is scheduled to travel to Philadelphia on Friday to discuss how his administration is building union jobs and a clean energy future.

The Philadelphia region is one of the locations vying for a share of the $7 billion in grants.