Plug Power Inc., a provider of comprehensive hydrogen solutions for the green hydrogen economy, received a conditional commitment for an up to $1.66bn loan guarantee from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) to finance the development, construction, and ownership of up to six green hydrogen production facilities, according to a news release.
The production facilities, which will be selected for financing in accordance with procedures to be set forth in definitive documentation with DOE, will be built across the nation and supply major companies, including Plug’s existing customers, with low-carbon, made-in-America green hydrogen. The hydrogen generated will be used in applications in the material handling, transportation, and industrial sectors.
“Green hydrogen is an essential driver of industrial decarbonization in the United States,” said Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh. “Earlier this year, Plug successfully demonstrated our innovation and technical ability by launching the first commercial-scale green hydrogen plant in the country in Woodbine, Georgia. This loan guarantee will help us build on that success with additional green hydrogen plants.”
Marsh added, “We appreciate the partnership with the DOE Loan Programs Office and are pleased to have worked through an intensive due diligence process. The loan guarantee will prove instrumental to grow and scale not only Plug’s green hydrogen plant network, but the clean hydrogen industry in the United States.”
Plug, a commercial-scale manufacturer of electrolyzers, currently operates the largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system in the United States at its Woodbine, Ga., hydrogen plant. Plug’s current green hydrogen generation network now has a liquid hydrogen production capacity of approximately 25 tons per day.
Plug’s green hydrogen production plants utilize the company’s own electrolyzer stacks manufactured at its state-of-the-art gigafactory in Rochester, NY, and Plug’s liquefaction and hydrogen storage systems engineered at its facility in Houston.
DOE’s support for Plug’s green hydrogen projects represents a major milestone in the U.S.’s commitment to advance the development of large-scale hydrogen production, processing, delivery, and storage. It also underscores the application of green hydrogen to help meet decarbonization goals across multiple sectors of the economy.
While this conditional commitment represents a significant milestone and demonstrates the DOE’s intent to finance the project, certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions, including negotiation of definitive financing documents, must be satisfied before funding of the loan guarantee.
LPO works in support of President Biden’s ambitions to drive growth in US manufacturing and innovation, create jobs, and build a clean energy economy that will address climate change and make communities more resilient.
Plug’s projects under the loan will adhere to the Biden Administration’s Justice 40 Initiative. This process includes gathering input from local labor, workforce, and economic development organizations in addition to first responder and non-profit organizations. The plants are expected to create good-paying jobs accessible to a diverse talent supply and help develop workforce skills needed to drive the transition to a clean energy economy.
LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, which supports innovative energy and supply chain projects and projects that reinvest in existing energy infrastructure, will provide the financing to Plug.
