The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub is a bad idea for our communities

(Recently) I sat in on the 3rd public meeting (zoom) about the ARCH2 Clean Hydrogen Hub. This meeting was conducted by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The Department of Energy held two listening sessions about the hub this spring. After all three sessions, citizens were left in the dark as to the project details. There were over 200 questions logged during the OCED call and approximately three were answered. The lack of public engagement has been ongoing throughout the process even though the DOE promised significant community engagement. It seems the only engagement being conducted is behind closed doors with industry groups.

Over 50 environmental organizations signed a letter on May 28 asking the U.S. Department of Energy to suspend negotiations on Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub until more information on the project was released. This letter was sent by the Ohio River Valley Institute to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub or ARCH2 was recently allocated a $30 million “chunk” of the total $925 million of federal funds awarded. The majority of partners in the hub are fossil fuel corporations or have ties to fossil fuels.

These “partners” will see project sites across Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Scientific studies reveal that using dirty, climate-changing fossil fuels to create hydrogen is not efficient and not a path to a green energy economy. In addition, “It will always be more efficient to rely first on the direct use of renewable electricity wherever it is possible to do so, rather than convert that electricity into hydrogen before using it as an energy source.”

ARCH2 proponents state they can make “clean hydrogen,” hydrogen that will produce 2 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions or less per kilogram of hydrogen produced on site. However, most of the hydrogen produced at the ARCH2 projects will be “blue hydrogen,” hydrogen made using a process called “steam methane reforming” (SMR) where methane (CH4) is sourced from fracking operations. The carbon dioxide produced from this process is captured by using carbon capture sequestration (CCS) technology. About 95 percent of U.S. hydrogen is blue hydrogen produced with methane gas.

Globally, less than 0.02% of hydrogen is actually green, which means it was made by using water to supply the hydrogen and renewable electricity to split the water molecules. Even green hydrogen comes with risks as both hydrogen fuel cells and the electrolyzers used to make hydrogen require toxic PFAS polymers.

A 2023 report; “Blue Hydrogen: Not Clean, Not Low Carbon, Not a Solution” states that even with a 95 percent carbon capture efficiency, steam methane reforming would still release into the atmosphere 13 kg of carbon dioxide per 1 kg of hydrogen produced, well above the DOE’s 4 kg of CO2 per 1 kg of H2 produced.

Carbon capture technology would require a pipeline system of close to 68,000 miles at a cost of $230 billion. Before being transported via pipelines, CO2 needs to be pressurized to 1000 psi, becoming a supercritical fluid and then injected into Class VI wells. The pipelines used for transportation can rupture and release concentrated carbon dioxide, an asphyxiant, into the atmosphere. A pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi injured 45 people. Additionally, CO2 storage has to be monitored indefinitely and carbon dioxide can cause groundwater to become contaminated as CO2 combines with underground water to react and form carbonic acid.

A Nebraska-based energy company, Tenaska, has recently received $69 million from the DOE to drill four Class VI test wells in the tri-state region. Currently, there are no Class VI commercial scale carbon dioxide injection wells in operation in Ohio, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania.

The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations claims the tri-state region was chosen for a hub because it had “renewable electricity sources for hydrogen production,” but Ohio only gets 4% of its electricity from renewable energy.

Hydrogen as a fuel source has its own problems. It is flammable and can cause explosions. “Hydrogen fires are invisible, making them even more hazardous for first responders, and unlike natural gas, no odorants are added to hydrogen so leaks are hard to detect. The gas can corrode steel in a process called hydrogen embrittlement, and brittle pipelines are more prone to leaks and explosions. Studies show blending hydrogen with methane in methane specific infrastructure systems is problematic. Additionally, hydrogen is an indirect greenhouse gas. Hydrogen emissions increase the lifetime of methane gas in the atmosphere.

While local, state, and federal politicians, as well as the oil and gas industry, sing the praises of the ARCH2 projects, we in the Appalachian area realize that it means locking our region into more fracking and all the destruction and health effects that process brings to local communities. The Inflation Reduction Act also increases tax credits for every ton of carbon dioxide captured from $50 to $85. ARCH2 is win-win for fossil fuel companies but not local communities.

Randi Pokladnik is a lifelong resident of the Ohio River Valley and a retired research chemist. She has a Ph.D. in environmental studies. She is a resident of Uhrichsville.