EXPERTS ADVISORY

The Department of Energy has announced the creation of seven regional hydrogen hubs around the country, to be funded with up to $7 billion—including the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2). U-M experts are available to comment.

Gregory Keoleian is co-director of MI Hydrogen, U-M’s hydrogen initiative, and was lead author of the Michigan Hydrogen Roadmap. MI Hydrogen is part of MachH2. He is also co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems and the Peter M. Wege Endowed Professor of Sustainable Systems.

“We convened the Hydrogen Roadmap for the State of Michigan Workshop over a year ago to identify sectors and facilities in the region where hydrogen can play a role in accelerating climate solutions and the clean energy transition, especially where electrification is problematic,” he said. “The goals and projects of this DOE hydrogen hub will catalyze the creation of a new hydrogen ecosystem that we began to envision in our workshop.”

Contact: gregak@umich.edu

Todd Allen is co-director of MI Hydrogen and the Glenn F. and Gladys H. Knoll Department Chair of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences.

“To develop the robust use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier requires production, transport and end use—for instance, heavy duty trucking,” he said. “Each of these three functions requires the other to exist, a classic ‘chicken and egg’ problem. The creation of regional hubs incentivizes industry as a way to start making hydrogen use routine.”

Contact: traumich@umich.edu