St. Regis tapped to take part in $1 billion hydrogen project

St. Regis Solar Hydrogen has been selected to begin award negotiations as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations development of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub involving Washington, Oregon and Montana.

St. Regis Solar Hydrogen (SRSH2) is a project that would split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. The U.S. Department of Energy last week announced that it would spend up to $1 billion developing the technology in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding of the three states. Office of Clean Energy funding will support SRSH2's participation in the Hydrogen Hub through the advancement of planning, detailed design, environmental permitting, and procurement of long-lead equipment.

“My brain is on fire. I’m not sleeping at night,” laughs Arnold Thompson, of Seattle who has partnered on the St. Regis project with George Bailey, a longtime solar advocate in Mineral County.

Thompson, Managing Partner of AB Aero Partners in Seattle, is in the drone business and explains how their paths crossed and a partnership was developed.

“I had submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy for hydrogen-based drone constellation and realized I didn’t need that much (hydrogen). So that’s where I was introduced to George and we said, ‘Let’s go at this together’ where we’re like-minded in community development.”

Last month, Thompson, Bailey and Jeremy Crowley, Director of the Autonomous Aerial Systems Office at the University of Montana, held a demonstration on using drones for communication in emergency conditions from St. Regis to Lookout Pass along Interstate 90. Hydrogen-fueled drones have a much longer flight life than battery-operated drones, which will be imperative for this project.

Thompson explained that a grant for that project was due at the same time the Hydrogen Hub grant would be announced, which was mid-October.

“The problem with hydrogen to date is that there hasn’t been a reliable source that’s been able to produce it cheap enough,” explained Thompson.

Hydrogen-fueled transportation was one aspect of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

The Department of Energy's Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) will kickstart a national network of clean hydrogen producers, consumers and connective infrastructure while supporting the production, storage, delivery and end-use of clean hydrogen. H2Hubs will accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of clean hydrogen—helping generate clean, dispatchable power, create a new form of energy storage, and decarbonize heavy industry and transportation.

This marks the largest U.S. investment in clean energy to date. There are four phases over nine years, with the first phase as the planning phase which will be obtaining permits at ground level over the next 12 months which will start this year.

RSH2 represents the rural Justice40 community and will work with disadvantaged rural/tribal communities throughout Montana, the Pacific Northwest and the U.S.

“The bottom line is that this has set the foundation for creating jobs in St. Regis,” said Thompson.