Developing a Hydrogen Economy in Ohio: Challenges and Opportunities, a comprehensive study released this April by Levin’s Energy Policy Center (EPC) in collaboration with the Midwest Hydrogen Center of Excellence (MHCoE), JobsOhio, and the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, finds that Ohio is poised to become a leader in the clean hydrogen-fueled, zero-emission economy of the 21st Century. The report also validates Ohio as a prime location for a Clean Hydrogen Hub, as defined by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriated $10 billion to DOE for the creation of at least four Clean Hydrogen Hubs across the United States.

The data-driven study identifies:

• Factors that give Ohio an advantage in developing and deploying hydrogen technology
• Existing and potential hydrogen end-users
• Opportunities for growth in hydrogen-based markets: hydrogen-burning power plants, hydrogen fuel cell electric-powered vehicles, etc.
• Potential challenges that may impede the expansion of hydrogen-based markets

The research study was led by Mark Henning and Andrew R. Thomas of the EPC and the MHCoE. Thomas, Director of the EPC and the MHCoE, noted that while projecting new markets can be speculative, the study used rates of growth for hydrogen consumption that have already been seen in Ohio for the past decade for its forecast: "Based upon past growth, we project nearly 2 million metric tons of hydrogen per year will be consumed in Ohio by 2050 – without any federal or state constraints on carbon emissions. We will need an 'all of the above’ strategy for making hydrogen to meet this demand, including both reformation of natural gas and electrolysis of water from nuclear and renewable power."

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