Richard Gottwald: West Virginia leads the way on hydrogen (Opinion)

In the words of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the state is ready to be “the new epicenter of hydrogen in the U.S.” and has the potential to lead the country’s transition toward a lower-carbon economy.

Hydrogen possesses several properties that makes it safer to handle than other fuels commonly used today. It is nontoxic, the lightest and most abundant element in the universe, but contains an enormous potential as a fuel source.

Hydrogen has been produced and used safely around the world for nearly a century. Today, the two common methods to produce hydrogen are steam-methane reforming (SMR), separating hydrogen atoms from carbon atoms in natural gas, and can be combined with carbon capture and storage, or electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, leaving no byproducts.

Hydrogen, as with most other fuels, has hazards, but it is safe to use when proper handling practices are observed.

In 1957, the Compressed Gas Association published its first safety standard for hydrogen, as the United States used it as rocket fuel during the space race. Today, CGA continues to write new standards to meet the needs of the evolving hydrogen economy. To help serve its decarbonization purpose and function successfully in our energy ecosystem, CGA coordinates and collaborates with regulators, fire code officials and international standards bodies to harmonize each individual piece of the new hydrogen economy, from production to storage to use, to build as a seamless, interoperable and interconnected network.

While most hydrogen in the United States today is used in refining and industrial applications, decades of handling hydrogen safely provide a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to enable its commercialization across other critical industries, such as transportation, power generation, energy storage and heavy industry.

But without industry-tested safety standards, hydrogen’s ability to serve as a reliable low-carbon fuel all but evaporates. They are the foundation upon which the hydrogen economy must be built.

The ARCH2 hub will consist of hydrogen pipelines, multiple hydrogen fueling stations and permanent carbon dioxide storage infrastructure. This robust infrastructure development will require a rigorous level of safety coordination to ensure protection of workers, communities and the environment. As a major natural gas producer in the United States, with more than 4,000 miles of interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines, West Virginia has a major advantage — its highly skilled workforce with deep expertise in handling energy infrastructure safely.

It’s important that, as the ARCH2 hub prepares for its building phase, hub representatives, industry, communities and organizations with expertise in hydrogen safety continue to stay engaged and closely aligned to ensure necessary risk prevention measures and mitigation plans are in place.

For the ARCH2 hub to be successful, it must safely deliver on its economic and low-emissions promises. This project has the opportunity to transform West Virginia and the broader Appalachian region, making the Mountain State a pioneer in clean, innovative energy technology. For West Virginians, it means good jobs, cleaner air and a leading role in our nation’s clean energy innovation journey.

The ARCH2 hub was strategically selected to be part of this historic development, and West Virginia has the tools and skillsets needed to seize this opportunity to emerge as an “epicenter” for clean hydrogen in the United States.