$1B funding cut "a gut punch" for PNW hydrogen projects
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Projects to build clean hydrogen infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest are reeling after the Trump administration pulled a $1 billion grant for the region's hydrogen hub this week.
Why it matters: The loss of the grant hurts efforts in Washington, Oregon and Montana to harness hydrogen as a clean fuel source — one that many view as an important tool to help decarbonize the shipping and aviation industries.
- "It's a major and significant setback," Chris Green, the president of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association, told Axios this week.
Catch up quick: The termination of the $1 billion grant for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub was part of $7.6 billion in grant cancellations announced by the Department of Energy this week.
- "Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled," Russell Vought, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, posted on X on Wednesday.
Between the lines: Several Democrats, including Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith of Bellevue, accused the Trump administration of canceling the grants to punish Democrats for their role in the ongoing shutdown of the federal government.
- Vought said the grant cancellations affected projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.
- "It is outrageous that this administration is using a government shutdown to punish blue states like Washington," Ferguson said in a written statement, adding that he is "working with the Attorney General's Office to fight this illegal action."
- In a written statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called the grant terminations "the latest disappointment in the President's history of prioritizing political posturing over the future we desperately need to build."
Zoom in: Projects funded by the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub include hydrogen production facilities near Richland and Ferndale in Washington state, as well as plans for a hydrogen fueling network along the I-5 corridor in Western Washington.
- In Oregon, a project near Port of Morrow plans to convert clean gaseous hydrogen into liquid hydrogen, while another near Baker City will supply clean hydrogen for heavy-duty mining equipment and long-haul trucks.
State of play: While some projects appear ready to continue despite the loss of the federal grant, Green said others may have to press pause or seek funding from elsewhere.
- "It's definitely a gut punch," Green said of the lost funding.
What's next: Green said the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association is appealing the decision to end the grant, which the Department of Energy allows for up to 30 days.