Sen. Capito, of West Virginia: Initial ARCH2 funds to support 'design and planning'

The initial round of funds for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub will go toward “design and planning,” according to U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

Capito, a member of the West Virginia Hydrogen Hub Coalition, said Thursday that the $30 million recently released by the U.S. Department of Energy will ensure the project is able to get off the ground.

“It will be further solidifying the partnerships and actually getting more specific,” she said. “In the initial phase, it was where we were going to be doing production and who was going to be using the product and how we’re going to build pipelines. This will be more granular and much more in the design phase.”

The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, also known as ARCH2, is among the seven regional hydrogen hub projects announced by the Biden administration in October 2023.

ARCH2 will consist of hydrogen pipelines, multiple hydrogen fueling stations and permanent CO2 storage infrastructure in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The project is slated to receive “up to $925 million” from the $7 billion in funding for regional hydrogen hubs that was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

ARCH2 is a “collaborative initiative” between the DOE, “private industry, state and local governments, academic and technology institutions, nonprofit organizations and community groups working together to build a safe and sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem in Appalachia,” according to information from the ARCH2 website.

Development partners are: Air Liquide, CNX Resources Corp., Enbridge Gas Ohio, Empire Diversified Energy, EQT Corp., Fidelis New Energy, Hog Lick Aggregates, Hope Gas Inc., Independence Hydrogen, KeyState, and Plug Power. Management of ARCH2 is led by Battelle, Allegheny Science and Technology (AST), GTI Energy, and TRC Companies, with support from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

The West Virginia Hydrogen Hub Coalition issued a press release Wednesday celebrating the funding.

“West Virginia is an ‘all of the above’ energy state, and harnessing the power of hydrogen allows us to create new economic opportunities and high-quality jobs for our communities,” said Gov. Jim Justice, a member of the coalition. “I’m proud that West Virginia will continue its tradition as an innovative, energy-producing state.”

The announcement "adds to West Virginia’s ability to power this great nation well into the future,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., who is also a member of the coalition.

“I was proud to help bring ARCH2 to the Mountain State, which will strengthen America’s energy independence, adding to our all-of-the above approach to energy production through the expansion of hydrogen energy while lowering emissions and bringing good paying jobs to our state,” he said.