(WWJ) - The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $1 billion to an alliance between Michigan, Illinois and Indiana for a hydrogen hub.
The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, also known as MACH H2, will work with the Michigan Infrastructure Office to build a hydrogen truck stop in the Detroit area as well as a hydrogen production facility in Ypsilanti.
In an interview with WWJ, Zachary Kolodin, Michigan's Chief Infrastructure Officer and Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office, explained what a hydrogen hub is. A hydrogen hub is "a cluster of activity and infrastructure assets that are designed to launch a clean hydrogen economy in the Midwest," Kolodin said.
The hydrogen hub will consist of several different buildings that will allow the state to offer hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Hydrogen is a zero-emission fuel which will allow sectors of the economy that are reliant on fossil fuels to have a cleaner alternative, Kolodin said.
These projects will allow for the use of hydrogen in trucks and heavy-duty vehicles and could create almost 14,000 jobs, mostly involved in constructing the buildings.
The "Truck Stop for the Future'' in the Detroit area will work as a model to show how a hydrogen truck stop should work and what it can offer, Kolodin said. It will serve the Gordie Howe International Bridge traffic.
Experts say it could represent a reduction of emissions up to 8,250 tons of carbon dioxide every year. This is the equivalent of growing 115,000 tree saplings for 10 years.
Hydrogen is ideal fuel for trucks and heavy-duty vehicles because it provides a long driving range and short refueling times, experts say.
The project will also oversee the construction of a hydrogen production facility at the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, as well as the expansion of a hydrogen production and refueling center at the Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA).
Officials say Flint MTA is growing its fleet of hydrogen-powered buses, which they started a decade ago, and will lead to further reductions in transportation-related emissions. The current fleet has reduced Flint MTA's diesel fuel consumption from 3 million gallons to 30,000, a decrease of 99%
The Ypsilanti facility will allow for businesses to get cheaper hydrogen, Kolodin said.
Replacing diesel in trucking and other heavy-duty vehicles could see a decrease in carbon emissions equivalent to removing 280,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road for a year by 2035, experts say.
MACH H2 was one of only seven projects to win the funding from an applicant pool of 79.
Officials say that the facilities could be opened in the next four years, but the timeline is subject to change depending on the Energy Department.
Those interested in learning more can go to the Michigan website's page "Michigan Leads on Hydrogen".
