MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, according to supporters of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, known as ARCH 2.
Industry leaders and lawmakers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of ARCH 2’s new program office on Aug. 21 at West Virginia University’s Innovation Corporation.
ARCH 2 is a regional hub that will consist of a host of different infrastructure like pipelines, power plants and underground storage sites, spanning West Virginia, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and eastern Kentucky to primarily produce blue hydrogen. The goal is to create energy while reducing carbon emissions.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) were among the attendees who spokfuele of the hub’s anticipated benefits.
“We are in a tremendous location right now, and all the investments that (have) been made for the state of West Virginia to take advantage of and be able to offer jobs and offer really careers, this is unbelievable, truly unbelievable. And unprecedented too,” Manchin said.
While attendees lauded this step forward, details surrounding ARCH 2 continue to be scant, with no new information on specific site locations and infrastructures released, and concerns from community members and environmental activists still being ignored.
The ceremony
The ceremony recognized the Department of Energy’s recent investment of $30 million into ARCH 2, awarded by the agency’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The money will go toward the project’s first phase which will consist of preliminary planning and development.
The investment came after roughly a year since the DOE unveiled the seven nationwide hydrogen hubs that would receive funding.
The ribbon cutting also celebrated the opening of the ARCH 2 office at the WVU’s Innovation Corporation and the project’s partnerships including the non-profit science and technology company Battelle, which is leading the project, as well as WVU and Marshall University.
Capito said the project wouldn’t be possible without the expertise from these various partnerships.
“I know that these things are extremely, extremely difficult, time-consuming (and) technical. Without the expertise of the partnerships that we see, we would never be to the point at which we are,” Capito said at the press conference.
What is ARCH 2?
Hydrogen is the future of energy production in the U.S., according to speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and is expected to prolong West Virginia’s legacy as the energy powerhouse of the country.
“Hydrogen, the fuel of the future, is in abundance here in this state. So much of what we have is in abundance in this state: coal, oil, gas, hydrogen, wind, solar, almost everything you can imagine,” said WVU President E. Gordon Gee. “Now we have an opportunity to capitalize on it, and to make certain that our future is a West Virginia future for the world.”
According to Battelle, ARCH 2 will create 21,000 jobs, 18,000 construction and 3,000 permanent, workforce development programs and energy savings for consumers as well as environmental benefits like improving air quality by reducing emissions.
ARCH 2 will primarily produce blue hydrogen — derived from natural gas — and create a small portion of green hydrogen — derived from clean energy sources.
In order to make the process of blue hydrogen clean, however, a process called carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is essential to catch emissions and inject them into the ground.
Yet, many environmental activists and scientists say that blue hydrogen, even with CCS, will not be clean. They add CCS, also known as Class VI wells, has never been practiced successfully.
According to U.S. EPA data, there are only eight active Class VI wells in the United States, most of which are in North Dakota. Of the eight active wells, only two wells are in the injection phase. No Class VI wells exist in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Manchin blames the lack of CCS projects in the U.S. due to the EPA’s slow permitting process. As of August 2024, 204 well applications and projects are currently under review by the EPA.
“We’ve proven it to be done commercial, (but) the administration is dragging their feet on the Class VI well permit so it makes it hard for (companies) to get into that,” Manchin said in an interview with Farm and Dairy.
Many states, including West Virginia, are applying for primacy so that state agencies can permit their own Class VI wells.
Since the project was announced in October 2023, community members and environmental advocates in the tri-state region have also expressed concern over ARCH 2 negotiations, citing a lack of transparency and the one-sided format of the DOE’s ARCH 2 listening sessions.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
