Mrvan: Hydrogen hub to bring big impact to northwest Indiana
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A major hydrogen project planned for the BP Whiting Refinery is expected to bring a major impact to northwest Indiana, according to Congressman Frank Mrvan, D-Highland.
Speaking at an event Friday along with U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geraldine Richmond, Mrvan said private sector funding for the project could reach up to $6 billion.
The project is the result of the coalition known as MachH2 being designated a regional hydrogen hub last year by the Biden Administration.
The U.S. Department of Energy is committing up to $1 billion to build a hydrogen production operation in Whiting. According to our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana, Mrvan said the project would employ more than 16,000 skilled tradesmen for several years.
“Working men and women, the construction trades, will put that together,” Mrvan said. “BP has committed to the private investment and BP isn’t the only company that will be investing. U.S. Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs, Cummins, Rolls-Royce, NiSource, all of these industries are partners and are going to be benefiting from the hydrogen hub and utilizing it for their new technologies.”
The number of workers expected for the project is roughly equal to the population of the town of Griffith, according to the publicatoin.
Randy Palmateer, business manager for the Northwestern Indiana Building & Construction Trades Council, said the project is expected to be built on one of two sites near the refinery, with construction beginning in 2025.
“Our apprenticeship programs have increased across the board by 25% to 30% to meet the demand of the upcoming work, mainly the hydrogen hub,” Palmateer said. “[The project is] going to lead to ancillary projects with hydrogen and carbon sequestering jobs up and down the lakefront. That’s going to be the new norm. Hydrogen is going to be a major jobs giver for Northwest Indiana.”
Mrvan said construction on the hydrogen hub could take six to 10 years to complete.
You can read the full story from The Times of Northwest Indiana’s Joseph S. Pete by clicking here.