MACh2 Original Technical Volume

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At the time of submission to the U.S. Department of Energy, MACH2’s application included a list of proposed projects.  Since submission, the MACH2 team has been engaged in negotiations with the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.  During the negotiation period, there have been several updates and changes to the list of proposed projects.  

What won’t change over the course of negotiations and subsequent phases: 

MACH2 will primarily produce green hydrogen with a small amount of pink hydrogen and a single proposed orange hydrogen project. 

• Green hydrogen is hydrogen that is produced using renewable electricity to power electrolyzers that separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.  This process produces no greenhouse gas emissions.  

• Pink hydrogen is hydrogen produced using electrolyzers powered by nuclear energy.  This process also produces no emissions.  

• Orange hydrogen, in the case of MACH2, biomethane from a wastewater treatment plant in Philadelphia is proposed to be used to produce hydrogen. Because biomethane is an unavoidable byproduct of treating wastewater, some portion must be flared.  By using this biomethane to produce hydrogen, these current biomethane emissions will no longer be polluting the atmosphere and instead be used to create hydrogen with  the carbon molecules being sequestered by carbon capture technology.

Regardless of any changes to proposed projects, MACH2 will remain a non-

extraction hub, meaning project partners only use non-fossil fuel energy sources to produce hydrogen. 

What has changed as of 5/14/2024: 

• Messer has originally proposed a green hydrogen production project as a part of the hub, but has since discontinued the project and is outside of scope for MACH2.  

• sHYp which was a proposed green hydrogen production project in the original application, but has since discontinued the project and is outside of scope for MACH2. 

• No MACH2 producer will use waste-to-power to power hydrogen production.  Only green, renewable energy sources will be employed for green hydrogen projects, complemented by nuclear electricity for our pink hydrogen  projects and biomethane from wastewater treatment for our orange project.  

• First State Hydrogen has been added as a proposed green hydrogen production project.  

• The potential projects proposed by Hilco Redevelopment Partners, which is a planned end-user of hydrogen, will be  delayed until later phases.  

• Holtec Salem-Hope Creek Hydrogen Production Project: This project was expecting to produce 14 TPDs of pink Hydrogen by 2035 by leveraging electricity production on-site in the Salem-Hope Creek complex. The sites are operated by PSEG. At this time, Holtec had stepped back from assuming a project at this site.

• Holtec Electrolysis: On the site of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power plant (in the process of being dismantled) in Forked River, NJ, Holtec has proposed to build a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) hydrogen production plant with a nameplate capacity of 28 TPD or more.  The plant would be powered by a solar photovoltaic system located on adjacent company owned property.

• Exploration of regional connectivity to pipelines in upstate New York is no longer in-scope for the Hub.

• While the SmartPipe project for hydrogen storage is still in-scope for the MACH2 Hub, the project is evaluating several potential locations for deployment during Phase I.  In this analysis, SmartPipe may also consider the “'large diameter crude oil pipeline for H2 storage” that was identified in the Application and Technical Volume, to potentially be retrotfitted for hydrogen storage through SmartPipe technology. No project in the Hub scope intends to use any part of that pipeline to transport hydrogen.  All proposed infrastructure will go through thorough and careful evaluation for safety and environmental suitability.  

• MACH2 is continuing to explore the need for projects to transport hydrogen, and connect producers to end-use, including the Inter-Refinery Pipeline (IRPL). Please note that any updates or refurbishments to the IRPL will not supported by federal matching funds.

It is important to note that there may be additional changes as the process progresses.  No decisions have been made on any project, details of any project or specific site selection.  All proposed projects will be subject to ongoing community input during Phase 1.  

All maps in the technical volume are for concept purposes only.  

Clean hydrogen produced from zero-emission electricity is an important and targeted tool to help combat climate change and reduce pollution in the MACH2 region by providing clean energy and energy storage for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy industry, manufacturing processes, heavy transportation and shipping and agriculture.