Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) and other members of the Washington and Oregon delegations celebrated the Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement naming the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2) as a recipient of one of seven nationwide hydrogen hubs. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), together these centers will share a total of $7 billion in DOE funds aimed at supporting clean energy initiatives.
PNWH2 is a public-private partnership made up of the region’s key stakeholders in a future hydrogen industry. Under their proposal submitted to the DOE, hydrogen will be produced by harnessing existing clean, low-cost, and abundant hydropower resources in the region, resulting in the greenest hydrogen in the nation.
“The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub is a critical part of advancing our environmental goals and growing our clean energy economy,” said Rep. Strickland. “Today’s funding is a deep investment in our region, our people, and our future. This solidifies a path forward for bringing online another renewable energy source to help us transition to a cleaner energy future for the Pacific Northwest and our nation.”
The PNWH2 proposal demonstrated how clean hydrogen can support decarbonization efforts already being made in the transportation, maritime, industrial, and agriculture sectors, as well as the rapidly expanding zero-carbon aviation sector being pioneered in the Pacific Northwest. This funding is critical to creating a clean hydrogen network and will propel the region to be a leader in the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen while creating clean energy jobs.
Earlier this year, Rep. Strickland led a bipartisan group in writing a letter of support for the PNWH2’s application to the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program (H2Hubs). The letter was signed by Reps. Kim Schrier (WA-08), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rick Larson (WA-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Adam Smith (WA-09), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) and other House members from the Washington and Oregon delegations. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) also signed on to this letter.
U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is the Congressional Black Caucus whip, a member of the New Democrat Coalition, one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress, and the first African-American elected to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level.
###