Trump administration could pull funding for 2 hydrogen hubs based in Philly and Pittsburgh

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The Philadelphia area Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, or MACH2, could be on the chopping block. The Department of Energy listed MACH2 and the Pittsburgh-based Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2, as projects targeted for termination. Together, the projects could lose $1.7 billion dollars in federal funding.

Both hydrogen hubs survived a round of Trump administration cuts announced last week that included more than $43 million for projects in Delaware and New Jersey. But the new list, which was obtained by several news outlets, includes 300 additional projects nationwide, including some in Pennsylvania.

The DOE said in an email to NPR that it had not made any final decisions beyond the cuts announced last week.

“As Secretary Wright made clear last week, the Department continues to conduct an individualized and thorough review of financial awards made by the previous administration,” wrote Ben Dietderich, DOE press secretary and chief spokesperson. “Rest assured, the Department is hard at work to deliver on President Trump’s promise to restore affordable, reliable, and secure energy to the American people.”

The Trump administration targeted $7.5 billion in cuts on the first day of the federal government shutdown in what Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought referred to in a post on X as “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda.” 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a big proponent of the state’s two hydrogen hubs, said through a spokesperson that he is “an all-of-the-above energy Governor who’s worked tirelessly to generate more power in the Commonwealth.” He questioned the Trump administration’s stated commitments to developing hydrogen, which if the projects were to be terminated “would jeopardize tens of thousands of building trades jobs across Pennsylvania.”

“When Senator McCormick invited President Trump to join him in Pittsburgh in July, the President said he supports the development of new sources of energy in Pennsylvania – going so far as to tout the very projects slated to be decimated by the reported Department of Energy de-funding list,” wrote Shapiro’s spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky in an email to WHYY News. “If these rumors are true, continuing to support Pennsylvania’s two hydrogen hubs is critical to proving that he meant what he said.”

Sen. Dave McCormick did not respond to requests for comment.

The hydrogen hubs were a signature part of the Biden administration’s climate goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — meaning the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere is balanced by removing carbon emissions over a period of time. This requires replacing coal and oil with cleaner fuels. The goal of MACH2, a public-private consortium of hydrogen producers and consumers, is to fast-track commercial scale “clean hydrogen” production — using renewable energy to produce hydrogen rather than fossil fuels. 

In January, just two days before President Donald Trump took office, MACH2 officials inked a final deal with the DOE, freeing $18.8 million dollars, with a federal cost share of up to $750 million, to jumpstart hydrogen-powered manufacturing and transportation in the region. The initiative includes projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and promised to create 20,000 new jobs in the region.

The ARCH2 hydrogen hub would use fracked natural gas to produce hydrogen, with plans to bury the carbon underground. Projects in ARCH2 include sites in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The hub is slated to receive $925 million in federal funding. Last year, the hub reached an agreement with the DOE, freeing up $30 million in funding for the planning and siting of 11 documented projects by 12 companies. The initial planning phase is expected to take up to 36 months.

The bulk of the country’s hydrogen is now manufactured in a carbon intensive process using natural gas.

The MACH2 and ARCH2 are two of seven hubs across the country that the department originally announced in 2023 were slated to receive a combined $7 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Representatives for MACH2 and ARCH2 did not return requests for comment by time of publication.

Reid Frazier from Allegheny Front contributed reporting to this story.