Clean hydrogen firm Bakken Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cummins and Schneider National Carriers to jointly work on the Heartland Hydrogen Hub, which is being designed in conjunction with the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Montana.
Governors of those states previously signed agreements to support the project. The hub, which will receive federal funding through the $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program of the Department of Energy, will meet the requirements of long-haul trucking.
“Our focus in developing clean hydrogen production is scale and affordability,” said Bakken Energy CEO Mike Hopkins. “We want to make a difference in advancing the US hydrogen economy. In our region, the Upper Midwest, the clear market is long-haul trucking. Trucking-industry leaders have decided hydrogen will be a replacement for diesel and we want to make sure clean hydrogen supply meets their needs by partnering with them on the design of the Hub and in particular the distribution infrastructure.”
More from EnergyTech on Hydrogen in the C&I Energy Transition
World Hydrogen North America: Moving beyond H2 (Hype Squared)
Plug Power supplying Fuel Cells, H2 Infrastructure and Production Plant
Switching a diesel-fueled, Class 8 heavy duty truck to clean hydrogen is equivalent to eliminating emissions from 31 gasoline-fueled passenger vehicles.
“Hydrogen hubs will be important to scaling the hydrogen economy in the United States and decarbonizing the trucking industry. We’re excited to join Bakken and Schneider in this effort,” said Amy Adams, Vice President of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies at Cummins. “The DOE’s investment in the development of clean hydrogen production, in addition to the tax credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act, have made these commercial partnerships possible sooner, representing the best of public-private innovation initiatives.”
The Heartland Hydrogen Hub will include Bakken Energy’s large scale affordable clean hydrogen production. The firm has also been working on the cost-effective distribution of clean hydrogen.
