The Midwest Does Not Need Dirty Hydrogen

November 20, 2024

The Midwest Does Not Need Dirty Hydrogen

U.S. climate progress depends on getting it right on hydrogen

Contacts

Alexandria Trimble, [email protected]

Chicago-

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $22.2 million - the first part of a potentially $1 billion award - in funding for the Midwest Hydrogen Hub (MachH2).

In response, Lauren Piette, senior attorney at Earthjustice, released the following statement:

"MachH2 has not meaningfully engaged frontline communities or provided transparent plans for producing green hydrogen. We know that MachH2 will produce hydrogen from fossil fuels, and without a proactive consideration of the climate and community impacts, we can only assume that it will pull massive amounts of clean energy from our electricity grid, negating whatever energy it produces and increasing pollution from fossil fuel plants that make up for the energy that is diverted.

"There is a role for green hydrogen produced by new renewable energy sources to clean up what we cannot electrify, like steel manufacturing. But as it stands, the only 'green' in MachH2 seems to be our tax dollars going to fund another handout for the fossil fuel industry that harms communities and undermines our climate progress."

A rally against a planned hydrogen hub in the Midwest held on Nov. 16, 2024 in East Chicago, Indiana. The rally was organized and presented by Just Transition Northwest Indiana, Southeast Environmental Taskforce, and Earthjustice. (Matthew Kaplan for Earthjustice)

Additional Resources

• About the Clean Energy Program

About Earthjustice

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.