The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded initial funding to the final two regional hydrogen hubs awaiting funds: the Heartland Hydrogen Hub and the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub (MACH2).

The awards, announced Jan. 17 just days before President Donald Trump was inaugurated, are part of the up to $7 billion the U.S. allocated to establish hydrogen hubs across the country. The move is intended to boost the hydrogen sector by positioning hydrogen producers and consumers in close proximity with infrastructure in place.

The hubs are funded by former President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. However, the hydrogen hubs’ fate is in question after Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 that directed federal agencies to pause disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) awarded the Heartland hub with $20 million of its up to $925 million total federal cost share to begin Phase 1 activities that include initial planning, design, and community and labor engagement activities. Led by the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center, the Heartland hub aims to produce clean hydrogen for use in low-carbon nitrogen fertilizer with projects in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

MACH2 was awarded $18.8 million of the total federal cost share of up to $750 million. The hub plans to focus on industrial applications—such as power generation and replacement fuel for process heaters—and heavy-duty transportation, the OCED said. With project sites in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, the hub aims to produce hydrogen from renewables, nuclear energy and natural gas.

The hydrogen hubs are part of ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

The other five hubs that have been awarded initial federal funding are the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, California Hydrogen Hub, Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Midwest Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub.

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