A regional model for producing clean hydrogen

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe with many applications, including its use in fertilizers like ammonia; its role in decarbonizing the steel industry; and its use in the expanding field of sustainable fuels, including aviation fuel (SAF) production. Despite this versatility, hydrogen has a few drawbacks, such as the difficulty of transporting the notoriously light substance and the often steep carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen production. If hydrogen could be produced locally with lower emissions, the positive impact on the environment and the regional economy would be far-reaching. 

Faculty affiliate Ana Torres received a 2025 seed grant from the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University to study potential clean hydrogen production methods for Western Pennsylvania. This project complements regional interest spurred by the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Club (ARCH2). The Pittsburgh area falls in one of the seven DOE-funded Clean Hydrogen Hubs dotted around the United States. 

“Hydrogen has a lot of projected uses for fuels,” said Torres, an associate professor of chemical engineering and member of the Center for Advanced Process Decision-making (CAPD). “But it’s uncertain when it is going to happen; this is something people are already looking at, including in industries and startup settings.” 

To identify clean production pathways for hydrogen and its carriers, such as the widely used chemicals ammonia and methanol, Torres will measure cost and carbon intensity to create a holistic understanding of what production method would be relevant to the Appalachian region. Torres’ key deliverables will be chemical process flowsheets that are relevant to businesses and policymakers for determining which hydrogen production methods are the best fit for Western Pennsylvania. 

Western Pennsylvania has shale, a sedimentary rock that contains the hydrocarbons that are used to produce fuels. Torres’ research will include an analysis of blue hydrogen’s suitability for the Pittsburgh area, which is produced with natural gas and followed by carbon capture to eliminate emissions. Green hydrogen, the other clean production method, alternatively uses electricity from clean sources such as wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal to split the hydrogen and oxygen in water molecules, and will also be investigated using the process flowsheets.

Since Western Pennsylvania sits in a hydrogen hub, Torres will analyze the economic potential of a single hydrogen production facility that serves the region’s industries in an industrial park setting, versus the current way, which consists of each company producing its own hydrogen. 

“Whether you have one hydrogen producer supplying hydrogen to all industries, or having it produced separately, also depends on the kind of hydrogen that each industry needs,” said Torres. “If steel and SAF production, for example, need very different qualities and specifications of hydrogen, then maybe it’s better to do production separately. If they need the same type of hydrogen, maybe it’s better to centralize production to one location.”