Hydrogen hub in Minnesota and North Dakota wins nearly $1 billion in federal money; Xcel Energy to lead “green” hydrogen project

Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota have been chosen to host one of seven U.S. “clean” hydrogen production hubs, scoring up to $925 million in federal money.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy is a primary partner in the Upper Midwest venture — dubbed the Heartland Hydrogen Hub — which would use renewable power and nuclear energy to produce hydrogen in Minnesota.

“The Heartland Hydrogen Hub is game-changing initiative that demonstrates how we’re accelerating the development of the next generation of clean energy technology,” Xcel’s CEO Bob Frenzel said in a press statement.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Friday announced the winners among 33 hydrogen hub proposals submitted earlier this year. The hydrogen hubs mark one of the largest federal energy programs ever, with a total investment of $7 billion.

Companies involved in the hubs must put up cash to match federal money. Xcel has said it would go beyond the required one-to-one match, investing up to $2 billion into the Heartland hub over a decade.

Xcel said it expects to receive a large portion of the federal award for the Heartland hub, subject to negotiations.

The Heartland hub anticipates creating around 3,000 construction jobs and 700 permanent jobs, according to the energy department.

The Heartland hydrogen hub also includes Wisconsin and Montana, Xcel said in a press statement. Planning and construction of the hub will be done in phases, and project development will likely continue through 2035, according to Xcel.

“The strong partnership with our Upper Midwest states and other energy providers demonstrates our commitment to increasing economic impact while achieving carbon reduction goals for our customers,” Frenzel said.

The Heartland Hydrogen Hub was shepherded by the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center. Its two main corporate partners are Xcel and a joint venture of Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum and TC Energy, a Canadian pipeline operator.

The two fossil fuel companies have proposed a plant in North Dakota that would produce hydrogen from natural gas, capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions. Xcel’s Heartland hub proposals don’t involve natural gas.

One key Xcel project involves harnessing wind power to make hydrogen for a novel fertilizer factory to be built in Morris, Minn.

Clean hydrogen could be a tool to abate climate change, along with renewable power. It is seen as critical to decarbonize parts of the economy at a time when companies and states such as Minnesota have set zero-carbon goals.

Clean hydrogen, though, is in its infancy with many barriers to overcome before it can be a reliable part of the clean energy equation. There are two main varieties — and both are included in the North Dakota-Minnesota proposal.

“Green” hydrogen is manufactured from renewable energy in an expensive, electricity-intensive process called electrolysis. Roughly two-thirds of total hydrogen hub investments are associated with green hydrogen production, according to the energy department.

“Blue” hydrogen, a bedrock of North Dakota’s Heartland hub plans, is made from natural gas, the carbon-emitting feedstock of current hydrogen production. However, the blue process captures carbon dioxide emissions from gas and stores them underground.

It’s also an expensive process and one that’s often panned by environmental groups.

As part of the Heartland hub, Xcel would also produce hydrogen from nuclear power at its Monticello power plant.

Much of the hydrogen produced in each hydrogen hub would be used regionally. In the agriculture-heavy Upper Midwest, there would be a focus on producing hydrogen for nitrogen fertilizer, a mainstay for farmers.

Fertilizer production is seen as a particularly tricky industry to decarbonize.

Xcel’s plans include producing hydrogen for ammonia — the key ingredient in nitrogen fertilizer — at a commercial scale. The ammonia would be made into fertilizer by a start-up company planning a factory in Morris.

The hydrogen hubs include provisions for ownership of some assets by farmer co-ops and tribal communities, the energy department said.

Aside from fertilizer production, Xcel would also use hydrogen as a fuel for its own power plants and heating systems, though that will pose its own set of challenges.

Congress approved funding for the hydrogen hubs in the bipartisan 2021 infrastructure law.

Together, the seven hubs would aim to produce more than three million metric tons of hydrogen per year, which would amount to nearly one third of the 2030 U.S. clean hydrogen production goal, the energy department said.

The six other regional hubs would be located in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania; California; Texas; Illinois, Indiana and Michigan; and Washington, Oregon and Montana.

The largest federal investments — up to $1.2 billion each — would be for the California and Texas hubs.