A Fifty Million grant has been given to New Orleans in order for south Louisiana to become the “hub of green hydrogen activity.” The grant comes from the Biden administration and the project will be headed by H2theFuture.
H2theFuture is run by Greater New Orleans Inc. The money won for the project will pay for the transition the state’s economy away from hydrogen produced by fossil fuels toward “green hydrogen,” a cleaner form of hydrogen created using renewable energy. H2theFuture is one of the winners of the grant money accross the country. The project will help find ways to also reduce hydrogen costs, build a center for hydrogen-fueled ships and barge, and build a central campus for all the states hydrogen cluster ecosystem.
“This EDA investment will advance regional economic competitiveness in the clean energy space with a focus on equity … creating a resilient regional economy for the future,” Alejandra Y. Castillo, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development at the EDA, said in a statement.
Hydrogen has been used for petroleum refining and fertilizer production. Now it will also be used as a fuel. When burned this way it produces clean electricity through water and also heats as byproducts.
“With clean hydrogen, we can remain an energy state — but become an energy state of the future that has less impact on the environment,” said Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc., a regional economic development agency told The Associated Press. “When money and morality come together, you get stuff done.”
