Gov. Whitmer pens agreement to create the Midwestern Hydrogen Coalition

LANSING, Mich. (WLUC) - Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced the Midwestern Hydrogen Coalition, a bipartisan partnership between Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Indiana, to accelerate the development of a robust clean hydrogen economy in the Midwest.

According to a press release from the Michigan Infrastructure Office, the coalition will provide a regional framework for establishing a strong clean hydrogen market that will create good-paying jobs, promote zero-carbon energy, and improve public health.

“The Midwest will continue leading the future of mobility and energy innovation and has enormous potential for transformative hydrogen investments,” said Governor Whitmer.

Whitmer adds, “The Midwestern Hydrogen Coalition that launched Monday will accelerate the development of a robust clean hydrogen economy in the Midwest, creating good-paying jobs, cleaning the air, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Michigan and beyond. It will empower us to compete for transformational energy projects and bring big investments to the Midwest. Let’s keep working together to get it done.”

Clean hydrogen—hydrogen production with little to no greenhouse gas emissions—can be a key component of decarbonizing the transportation, agriculture, and industrial sectors. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) appropriated $8 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund a set of Clean Hydrogen Hubs, which are networks of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in proximity.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden recently signed into law, creates a tax credit for hydrogen production. These credits will make clean hydrogen production competitive with other methods of production, providing a path to sustainability for clean hydrogen end uses, such as transportation, refining, chemical production, and agricultural products like ammonia.

“The Midwest can build flourishing industrial, agricultural, and transportation sectors without air pollution through widespread deployment of clean hydrogen fuels.”

“The Midwest governors coming together to form the Midwestern Hydrogen Coalition have accelerated progress toward that future, leveraging each participating state’s unique assets—from shared infrastructure and accelerated technology to a robust workforce of engineers and researchers—to advance the Midwest’s growing hydrogen market ecosystem,” said Zachary Kolodin, Michigan’s Chief Infrastructure Officer.

Multiple midwestern industrial and university-led groups are expected to compete for DOE funding for hydrogen projects. The Midwest Hydrogen Coalition will work with them to make their projects more competitive through collaboration on policy development, permitting and asset planning.