Chemical Engineering August 2023 - 17

Workforce
The Hydrogen Hubs are bringing together
industry, academia and government
bodies to take advantage
of the unique geographic, workforce
and infrastructural benefits of their
respective regions. Because the
hubs are focused on commercialready
technologies, rather than testing
conceptual or research-focused
endeavors, the role universities take
is generally focused on honing workforce
skills and fostering beneficial
relationships with the communities
where the projects will actually be
executed. " Universities have a very
important sort of 'connective-tissue'
role to help align our manufacturing
alliances, our government agencies
and other university partners into a
cohesive community, " explains Tim
Filley, director of the Institute for
Resilient Environmental and Energy
Systems (IREES) at the University of
Oklahoma (Norman; www.ou.edu), a
partner in the HALO Hydrogen Hub
(www.h2alo.org), a regional coalition
between Arkansas, Louisiana and
Oklahoma applying for funding from
the DOE. " The hub is really about
shovel-ready technologies, not R&D
or pilot projects, so industries that
have existing technologies that are
ready to be put into the marketplace
and scaled is what we're seeking.
We're also thinking about the interface
between local production and
offtake, " he adds.
A key consideration in the economics
of a hydrogen hub is the ability
to utilize existing infrastructure and
natural resources, which obviously
varies greatly from region to region.
" The ultimate goal is a vibrant hydrogen
economy across the value chain
with clean production, clean storage
and clean use. We are broad in our
perspective, in terms of end users,
and we are thinking about leveraging
the strengths of the three states
- you can imagine that these states
have enormous strengths in the petrochemicals
industry and access to
vast natural-gas reserves, but we
also have abundant resources that
allow us to produce green hydrogen
through electrolysis. Those electrons
that we're using to produce hydrogen
are going to come from various
sources - from methane, as well as
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wind, solar and potentially nuclear
power, " says Filley.
But natural resources and physical
infrastructure are not the only factors
supporting a hydrogen hub proposal
- there are also complex considerations
related to workforce, education
and environmental and economic
impacts to local communities. The
hydrogen hubs fall under the major infrastructure
and energy projects that
are adhering to the Justice40 federal
initiative, which aims to decrease the
burden on communities that are disproportionately
affected by pollution
and the impacts of climate change.
" With the Justice40 executive order
in mind, we're striving to progress environmental
justice goals by thinking
about diversity, equity, inclusion and
accessibility, to ensure that benefits
flow to those communities where we
site the facilities, " says Filley. " We're
not just making sure we bring highFor
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Chemical Engineering August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2023
