Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
Hydrogen Policy
DOE Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs
Two of seven terminated in October 2025. Five retained in April 2026. Grants are not offtake. Heavy-duty truck relevance lives on Semi Trucks.
| Hub | Federal cap ($B) | Primary offtake | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCHES (California) | 1.2 | Ports, drayage, mobility | Terminated Oct 2025 | About $30M Phase 1 of up to $1.2B. Not a live DOE award. |
| Pacific Northwest | 1 | Ports, regional industry | Terminated Oct 2025 | About $27.5M Phase 1. Oregon, Washington, Montana. |
| HyVelocity (Gulf Coast) | 1.2 | Refining, chemicals, ports | Retained Apr 2026 | Texas Gulf. The industrial-gas backyard. Phase 1 delayed vs original calendar. |
| ARCH2 (Appalachia) | 0.925 | Blue H2 with CCS, industry | Retained Apr 2026 | West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania. EQT among partners. Gas-to-blue, not electrolyzers first. |
| MachH2 (Midwest) | 1 | Steel, refining | Retained Apr 2026 | Illinois, Indiana, Michigan. |
| MACH2 (Mid-Atlantic) | 0.75 | Heavy-duty transport plus industry | Retained Apr 2026 | Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey. Clearest HD-mobility hub in DOE fact sheets. |
| Heartland | 0.925 | Fertilizer / agriculture | Retained Apr 2026 | Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. Ammonia first, not a truck corridor. |
Policy Instruments That Move FID
45V, 45Q, RFNBO, and the hubs. IEA: offtake signed in 2024 fell to 1.7 Mtpa from 2.4, and only 20% of it was firm.
| Instrument | Where | What it does | The limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRA 45V | United States | Production credit per kg of qualifying clean hydrogen. | Rules on carbon intensity and electricity matching decide which projects pencil. Political duration is a risk. |
| IRA 45Q | United States | Credit per tonne of CO2 sequestered. The blue-hydrogen lever. | Cannot stack with 45V on the same molecule. Needs Class VI wells and midstream. |
| DOE H2 Hubs | United States | Up to $7B across seven regional hubs. | Two hubs terminated Oct 2025. Five retained Apr 2026. Grants are not offtake. |
| EU RFNBO | European Union | Defines what counts as renewable hydrogen for targets and support. | Additionality and hourly matching raise cost. Germany has asked for looser rules. |
| ReFuelEU / UK SAF | EU and UK | Aviation blending mandates that create a bid for e-kerosene. | IEA: more than 600 ktpa synthetic kerosene implied in 2030, up to ~170 ktpa H2. Small versus 100 Mt. |
| Japan / Korea offtake | East Asia | Government-backed contracts for imported hydrogen and ammonia. | Volume is concentrated in power and chemicals, not in a global price. |
