Editorial: Hawaii a good fit for hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen fuel is a clean-burning source of energy, and can be created from existing construction waste, agricultural byproducts and other organic materials. It can be used to power cars — and airplanes.

Many expect hydrogen to be a significant part of a U.S. transition to clean, renewable energy sources that do not contribute to climate change, replacing fossil fuels that emit carbon waste. When combined with oxygen, in a fuel cell or burned in a gas turbine, it produces electricity with only water and heat as byproducts. You could call it “the wave of the future.”

The Biden administration is making a $7 billion-plus push to advance hydrogen fuel development, as part of its 2021 infrastructure package.

And on Monday, Gov. Josh Green announced a focused push by the state to hitch Hawaii’s future to that federal endeavor.

The state should support this effort wholeheartedly, as a promising option to diversify Hawaii’s economy and continue the drive for 100% independence from fossil fuels.

Creating hydrogen fuel from otherwise waste products is a particularly attractive option for Hawaii, where space for landfills is extremely limited by island geography, hydrology and population. Hawaii’s access to geothermal and other renewable energies, including solar, also positions it well to create hydrogen fuel.

In October, the Star-Advertiser reported that Kailua-based Simonpietri Enterprises was awarded $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a project to generate clean hydrogen fuel out of construction and demolition waste, as part of the Biden administration’s goal of achieving a net-zero carbon power sector by 2035. Simonpietri’s $2 million research project, co-developed with the University of North Dakota, uses gasification (high temperature and pressure) to turn “highly contaminated organic waste,” i.e. construction waste, into hydrogen.

The company was the only Hawaii enterprise awarded federal money from that batch of grants for research and development on hydrogen fuel — but state officials are working to ensure it will soon have company.

Green’s agenda involves the Hawaii Pacific Hydrogen Hub, an already conceived project including 21 partners. Seeds for the hub were planted during the Ige administration, as partners coalesced and the effort moved forward with the DOE.

A Hawaii Pacific hub would integrate existing, in-development, and proposed hydrogen-production operations across the state and Indo-Pacific region, and seed a transition to hydrogen-powered operations across “all sectors of Hawaii’s energy ecosystem and economy” over the next decade, according to the Hawaii State Energy Office. Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaii Gas and Oceanit are among the partners.

In January, the Energy Office announced that Hawaii’s project had qualified for a second round of consideration by the DOE, for funding to create a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (H2Hub) program. Hawaii is now one of 33 groups applying for six or seven funding slots.

It’s an extremely competitive process, with potential funding of up to $1 billion for a project. But one advantage Hawaii has is its strategic location — and the value of a hydrogen hub to military users in the Pacific.

The proposal comes at a time when Hawaii is accelerating efforts to expand renewable energy generation. In July, the state enacted a Clean Energy Initiative that calls for the use of 70% clean energy by 2030, as compared to today’s 90%-plus reliance on imported oil.

On Tuesday, Hawaiian Electric announced it is seeking proposals for renewable energy projects on Oahu and Maui. And Kauai, which has been able to sporadically achieve 100% renewable energy use, might achieve that goal fully via a hydrogen hub.

Hawaii’s press to develop a regional hydrogen hub holds great promise, supporting growth of a clean energy economy, with the jobs, advanced technology and diversified economic base that come with it. It’s a strategy to support enthusiastically.