The Department of Energy signed a $12.6 billion agreement Wednesday with a California hydrogen hub, the first deal of its kind since the bipartisan infrastructure law was signed three years ago.
The California hub, known as ARCHES, is the first of seven hubs — which were selected by DOE in October — to ink a deal with the Biden administration. With $7 billion from the law, the administration is aiming to build out hubs that demonstrate the production and transport of “clean” hydrogen, which is not currently produced at scale in the U.S.
“California is leading the nation with the first hydrogen hub to sign a cooperative agreement, and we will continue to lead by decarbonizing goods movement, the energy sector, and heavy industry,” said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in a statement announcing the award. “The path to achieving California’s ambitious clean energy goals runs through ARCHES, and I’m excited to see the California Hydrogen Hub kickoff with this initial round of funding.”
Angelina Galiteva, the CEO of ARCHES, said in an email that the hub can now “get to work allocating funds” to 37 proposed hydrogen projects throughout the state that are focused on “clean, renewable energy.”
