(The Center Square) – North Dakota would benefit economically if the state is approved as one of 6-10 hydrogen hubs in the country, a state official told The Center Square.
The federal Office of Clean Energy Administrations announced last October the agency would take applications for the regional clean energy hydrogen hubs. Up to $7 billion, made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will be awarded, according to the Department of Energy’s website.
North Dakota joined Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin to form the Heartland Hydrogen Hub. The Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks will coordinate the project, Gov. Doug Burgum said in a news release last October.
The partnership made sense, according to Tom Oakland, Energy and Economic Coordination office manager for the North Dakota Department of Commerce.
“They are our neighboring states,” Oakland told The Center Square in an interview. “We already serve these states with power production. The states also have a significant need for agricultural fertilizer as well.”
Agriculture is the state’s top industry. North Dakota leads the country in wheat and sunflower production, according to the state’s website. But getting fertilizer is a challenge. Transporting fertilizer into the state drives up costs.
“North Dakota is going to see nearly double the natural gas production ten years from today,” Oakland said. “And we have a need for fertilizer, so it would only make sense for us to produce it locally.”
The DOE will announce a winner sometime this fall, according to its website.
“Getting hydrogen right would mean unlocking a new source of clean, dispatchable power, and a new method of energy storage,” the DOE said on its website. “It would mean another pathway for decarbonizing heavy industry and transportation.’
Oakland said North Dakota is an energy state with several goals.
“We are not trying to steer the boat towards only non-fossil fuels or fossil fuels,” Oakland said. “We are trying to work with all of the generation types to maximize efficiency.”
Meanwhile, North Dakota is looking for other ways to increase locally-made fertilizer.
Last week the North Dakota Development Fund announced it was soliciting bids from companies interested in building a fertilizer plant in the state.
The development fund is offering up to $65 million in loan funds, according to the announcement.
